Twenty Years Later, Book 1
by Pyeknu
Summary: Sequel to UY The Senior Year and UY The Ishinomaki Years. At the start of the Third Millennium, one Miyake Junba learns the incredibe truth about her parentage. Nothing in Tomobiki will ever be the same again! NOTE: First book of a long series.
1. Tomobiki 2001

Three years after Lum's arrival on Earth . . .

_It can't end like this . . ._

Somewhere in the vastness of interstellar space, a frigate-class ship found itself besieged by a larger starship. The frigate's name was the I.S.S. _Renegade_, pendant number NFI-337-C. Aboard, her crew struggled for survival and the safety of their lone passenger against an enemy force of black-suited female warriors. The crew not knowing why they were being attacked made the problem more difficult.

One of the crew was male, the other female. He was one of the most recognizable personages of the local cluster: Nassur of Vos.

She, an eighteen-year old native of the planet Fukunokami, was unknown to all save among those circles concerned with the Galactic Federation's growing interest in Earth: the former Shigaten Benten of Bensaikyou.

The passenger, a six-month old baby resembling Benten save for tapered ears, slept in blissful ignorance in Benten's backpack.

This was the couple's daughter, Junba.

_It can't end like this . . ._

Benten gasped as she and Nassur struggled onto the bridge. Nassur quickly secured the door as a frustrated Benten removed her pack, placing it on the command chair. "We'll make our stand here," Nassur stated, resignation in his voice, "And fight until we're . . . "

He couldn't finish the spoken thought. "So this is it," she concurred, her voice reflecting her immediate grasping of the gravity of their situation. "There's no place for us to go."

Without another word, they hungrily, passionately embraced. They wanted to take the feel of their bodies against the other's into the next plane of existence. Tears brimmed in their eyes.

_It can't end like this . . ._

After the too-short embrace, Nassur's eyes glowed. He faced the door, gun ready. "It won't be long."

Benten stared at their sleeping daughter. _Sleep well, Junba, my Aiotoga. __Mommy won't let those scum touch you!_

Nassur was quick to notice Benten's look; he didn't have to psi-link with her to interpret her thoughts. "There is a way, Benten," he then said as he moved to a hatch marked ESCAPE POD. "This."

He pressed a button beside the hatch, opening the pod. Benten immediately remembered one inescapable fact about that particular device: "But, Nassur . . . there's room for only two passengers. One of us'll have to stay behind!"

"I'll stay behind, Benten," he asserted as he set the automatic controls. "You and Junba can escape." A stare stopped her automatic protest. "No child should be without her mother." He kissed her as he removed his kill-belt. "Give her this when she's old enough."

Nassur handed the wrapped belt to her, and then he stepped over to assume a defensive position by the command chair as the sound of lasers burning metal grew louder. Without hesitation, Benten placed Junba into the escape pod. _Still asleep_, she mused in admiration as she took a last look at their baby girl. _She'll never know what happened_. Her nose crinkled as the stench of melting metal assaulted her senses. A glance to Nassur revealed that the Vosian was taking aim at the closed door. Benten remained still.

_It just can't end like this . . ._

Wordlessly, she removed her hair and sash chains, placing them beside Junba. Mumbling a quick goodbye, she then secured the hatch. A metallically-tinged computer voice immediately announced the countdown: "_Automatic pod launch in thirty seconds and counting . . . _"

A viewing glass allowed Benten to stare at her still-sleeping child, Junba blissfully ignorant of events around her. As Nassur prepared for the showdown, he glanced over to see Benten taking up a defensive position by the pod. "Benten! Why aren't you in the pod!"

"I'm not leaving you, Nassur," she hissed, her voice hoarse as she choked back a sob.

A shrieking noise turned her attention to the door as a molten-line circle of metal dropped away, revealing their attackers. A stun-bolt lashed out, hitting Nassur square in the chest before he could get off a shot in response. The impact sent the Vosian sailing into the helm station. A grunt burst from his lips as his back slammed into metal, and then he slumped to the deck. Seeing no further motion, unsure as to his state, Benten shrieked an inhuman cry of vengeance, she spinning around to bring her rifle to bear on target.

**_It can't end this way!_**

Before she could get off a shot, the Fukunokami was struck down by a stun-bolt! Dropping by the pod hatchway as consciousness began to slip away from her, she was able to shift herself to gaze at her child. By now, Junba has awakened, her wails loudly indicating her protest of the bad noise and the absence of her mother. "Goodbye, Junba . . . " she moaned as her eyes fluttered shut. "My Aiotoga . . .

"Don't forget . . . us . . . "

The countdown reached zero.

* * *

As quiet returned to the _Renegade_'s bridge, the invaders all relaxed. One was quick to notice the escape pod rocketing away from the frigate. Another walked up to the team leader, she giving the other woman a salute. "They're still alive, Boss. Orders?" 

The leader gazed dispassionately at Nassur and Benten. "Move them out! Let's get this over with."

The woman by the escape pod hatch gazed over. "What about that escape pod?"

The team leader snorted. "Forget it. Lord Dureko's contract only paid for Nassur and Benten, not their little brat!" Contempt appeared in her voice as she turned to walk out. "Sacrificing themselves for their child! How heroic!"

As the others moved to take their prisoners away, the escape pod and its precious occupant warped out of the sector . . .

Destination: a planet named Earth.

* * *

_Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later_  
_**Tomobiki 2001  
**_by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot

Originally edited by Eleanor B. Kushnir (1937-2001). C&C by Steven Cornett, the Dragon Bard, Robert Geiger, and Sean Gaffney

Firstof a series of fan fiction stories based on _Urusei Yatsura_, created by Takahashi Rumiko.

* * *

NOTE: For this series, all writers' notes will be placed at the end of the story text.

* * *

The first year of the Third Millennium of Earth's Common Era . . . 

"MOTHER!"

In a bedroom of a modest house in the Tokyo suburb of Tomobiki, a beautiful teenaged girl leapt up to escape her nightmare.

Since her arrival on Earth, Junba had matured gracefully, she currently the splitting image of her true mother at age fourteen save for her pointed Vosian ears, slowed aging process (she had just celebrated her eighteenth chronological birthday the previous month) and rapidly-developing psychic abilities. Dressed in azure-blue pyjamas, Junba huddled fearfully as her eyes swam in their own tears. She clawed the bed sheets tightly around her as she awaited her mother. Soon to arrive was a twenty-ish woman dressed in a magenta pair of pyjamas and a blue housecoat. "Junba, it's all right!" Miyake Shinobu soothed as she embraced Junba. "It's only a dream."

"N-no! It was that nightmare again, Mother!" the younger Miyake stammered. "The one about the black-haired woman who put me into a dark room, then waved good-bye to me! She called me 'Aiotoga' as well as my real name." She gazed pleadingly at Shinobu. "I-I never even met her, Mom!" she burbled. "How can she know me? How . . . ?"

Shinobu gently wiped the tears away from her adopted daughter's cheeks. "Don't worry," she assured her with a forced smile. "It's only your . . . imagination working overtime. C'mon, it's time we got up for school anyway."

With that, she allowed her child to slip away from her embrace for her morning ablutions. "O-okay," Junba stammered, nodding.

Once alone, the crown princess of Kyotos' smile fades. _Poor Aiotoga . . . she's been tortured by those dreams since shortly after Ataru, Lum and I found her in that escape pod. It's been seventeen years and still no one has any clue as to what happened to Nassur-kun and Benten. Only Junba knows . . . but she was just a baby when they vanished. She needs to be told that she's adopted. She must know the truth about her real parents. My only hope is she doesn't hate me for keeping it secret for so long . . ._

The phone's ring interrupted her contemplation. Junba rushed out of the bathroom to answer it. "I'll get it!"

She activated the receiver of a videophone. On the crystal screen, the graphic INCOMING MESSAGE wavered for a second, it then replaced by the image of a pretty girl's face, she possessing neck-length chocolate brown hair. She was currently dressed in a baggy T-shirt. "Hello." On recognizing her, Junba tried to look cheerful on seeing the caller's groggy demeanour. "It's you, Amora! 'Morning."

"Hey, Aiotoga, you okay?"

"I just had that stupid nightmare again." Junba said.

"You don't have to tell me. I'm empathic, remember!" Moroboshi Amora grumbled. Despite the annoyance she currently felt at being woken up so rudely, there was no hiding the Celtic-like lilt in her voice. "It's even worse now that we're next-door neighbours! This is the ninth time this month you've had that damned dream! Keep it up and I'll be able to throw my alarm clock out the window."

The classmates laughed. Junba then frowned. "I don't understand it, Amora! Why do I dream of this woman? Mom doesn't act as if it's anything to worry about. You and Dansei-chan are the only ones who understand what I'm going through."

"Well, you are pe'cha with Dansei, so she has a first hand look into your feelings . . . and my mind's been long attuned to picking out sad feelings from people, especially friends and neighbours." Amora then sighed on seeing Junba's confused look, which no doubt stemmed from the non-Japanese word she just used. "I don't know why your mother doesn't talk to you about this. You ARE part-Vosian, remember?"

Junba's eyes rolled. "Oh, Amora, you know what my mom's like. She isn't comfortable talking about my father and how I got all these weird psychic powers that have kept popping up since I hit puberty. They're certainly not Sagussan-based powers."

Amora's eyes narrowed as she growled out, "You should DEMAND the truth, Junba!" The two young women had thrashed through this debate too many times to be counted by either of them. "It's your right. Your mother's hiding something important. I sense it. Even my parents seem to know something about your origins and they're won't tell me anything! You'd think it's a conspiracy! Parents!" she spat out.

Before Junba could reply, the report of a lightning blast and Lum's voice, audible both over the phone line and through the back windows of the Miyake home, cut in. "Speaking of my parents," Amora commented, "That sounds like them now."

* * *

The Moroboshis' Tomobiki home and its environs had undergone many changes over the past seventeen years. The least of which being that the Miyake family had moved into the house once occupied by Ryooki Koosei, that move reflecting the marei'cha bond forged between Moroboshi Ataru and Miyake Shinobu prior to the final Tag Race just before Christmas in 1984. While Amora was trying to talk to her friend and classmate, Lum was hard at work awakening her husband. "Darling! It's time to get up and ready for school!" 

Ataru groaned as he rolled over, he wrapping the bedcovers over his head as he tried to ignore his spouse. Finally, exasperated, Lum turned to her no-fail solution: a lightning bolt. That got his attention! With a bounce that nearly slammed his head into the ceiling of their bedroom, Ataru vaulted out of bed, barely escaping another stinging from his wife. "Geez, Lum! Okay, okay! I'm up!"

The elder Moroboshis were still physically only twenty thanks to their exposure to the regeneration matrix of Sagurei over seventeen years before. Still, time had left its mark on them: Lum's hair had been at shoulder length since before their adopted daughter Reiko's graduation from high school six years before while Ataru, he having taken off his beard and ponytail around the same time, currently sported a smartly-trimmed moustache. Once out of bed, he quickly showered, shaved and donned a tailored business suit. Within minutes, Ataru made his way to the living room where Lum had set up the breakfast table for three. Amora, finally off the videophone, took her place at the table as Ataru leaned down to kiss them both. "Good morning, Lum, Amora," he greeted them before taking his own place.

"Morning, Daddy!" Amora replied. "Sleep well?"

"Like the dead!" Ataru nibbled on a piece of toast. "Lucky thing I've got a wife who can help me get up!"

"I always like to get you going in the morning, Darling," Lum purred before she moved to consume a bowl of rice.

Quickly finishing his breakfast, Ataru then decided on dessert: Lum's horns. She, then passing a bowl of rice to Amora, nearly drowned in arousal from his tongue's actions. "Darling, not now!" she squeaked. "It's time to go to work . . . and Amora's watching!"

Amora was undisturbed by her parents' blatant expression of affection, quite different from most Japanese families even in this day and age. "Oh, please! Don't mind me! I learn so much while watching experts at work . . . eh!"

At that moment, her brown eyes began to glow a pretty light pink. The doorbell then rang. "It's Ryooki-sensei!" Amora announced as she bolted to her feet, running over to open the door.

Very much unchanged despite his working constantly at Tomobiki High School for eighteen years, Ryooki Koosei was quick to laugh on seeing his former next-door neighbours -- he currently resided in Miyake Shinobu's old home several blocks away -- in their compromising position. "Good morning, you two," he hailed, tongue in cheek and pinky upraised. "Starting a little _early_ for that, aren't you?"

The Moroboshis moved to clean up. "Hi, Koosei," Ataru said. "I was just thanking Lum for getting me up this morning."

"You know," Tomobiki High's vice-principal slyly mused, "You COULD call in sick . . . "

"No." Ataru slipped on his jacket. "I've used up too many of my sick days this year already. Sakura's suspicious."

Koosei hummed. "Why would she be? She's always wanted you and Lum together."

Everyone laughed as Amora appeared, dressed for school. Lum followed her, she carrying two handled lunch boxes, her husband's briefcase and her daughter's school bag. "Here are your lunches," she announced as she held them out. Ataru and Amora took their school things as they moved to exit. "Don't forget that Jariten is coming over from the shipyards tonight and I'm working late, Amora-chan."

"Yeah, yeah, Mom." Amora rolled her eyes in typical teenage annoyance. "You told me this FIVE times yesterday. I'll have dinner ready when he comes. Did you tell Junba you're working late tonight?"

"Of course."

Ataru kissed her cheek. "Have a nice day, Lum."

"Tcha!"

Reaching the door, Ataru assumed a dignified pose. "I'm off to fight the ultimate battle!" he declared before rushing out . . .

And crashing right into a Buddhist monk!

Lum, Koosei and Amora were taken aback on seeing Ataru run into ANYTHING. They then noisily exhaled on seeing who the "visitor" actually was. "You again!" Ataru snarled. "This is beginning to become a bad habit! One I'd like to break!"

Since taking monastic vows after Seiryokuteki Tanoshii's death, Megane Aisuru had assumed the late Cherry's spot as "protector" of the Moroboshi family. His face was weather-beaten from years of piety on the road, the only other change other than the robes marking his current calling was his shaved head. Megane bowed to Ataru, his hands held forth in prayer. "I want to speak with Lum."

"You're lucky I'm in a hurry," Ataru declared. "Or you'd have been kicked into the next prefecture!"

He moved to pass his old classmate. Megane's hand blocked the way. "Don't go that way! Something evil will befall you."

"Yeah, sure! Tell us another one!" Amora snapped as everyone raced past him, they deciding NOT to bother anymore with giving him an impromptu flying lesson at the business end of their fists or one of Koosei's vast arsenal of hyperspace mallets.

* * *

Minutes later . . . 

Visually, Tomobiki High had changed little over the previous seventeen years. The school buildings themselves had been thoroughly gutted, refurbished and modernized in late 1997, shortly after Ataru came to work here. Students' names were different, many teachers had either retired or had been reassigned to other schools, yet the morning ritual continued. Among the students arriving this day is Miyake Junba, she still preoccupied with her nightmare. "Why do I keep dreaming of a woman I've never met before!" she pondered.

Catching up with her as she gazed skyward were twin red-haired Oni men, their eyes locked on the inattentive beauty before them. However, before their hands could acquire target, Junba stopped, her blue eyes glowing a murky green. _Here comes trouble . . ._

The twin with the red scarf grabbed one arm. "Penny for your thoughts!"

The twin with the blue scarf grabbed the other arm. "And then some!"

_And make it double_, Junba finished. "Rin? Ren?" She then tried to break free from their grasp. "What're you doing! Let go!"

Seq Rin grinned. "Only if you promise to marry one of us!"

"And it'd better be me!" Seq Ren added.

On that declaration, the twins spun on each other, their shift of attention giving Junba the chance she needed to escape. "Forget it, idiot!" Rin yelled as he shoved his face into his brother's. "She's gonna marry me!"

"No, she's marrying me!" Ren retorted.

"Me!"

"ME!"

In a flash, the twins morphed into three-metre tall, red-furred, tiger-striped bulls -- virtually near-twins of their father, Seq Rei -- and they were off! As their clawed forepaws lashed out at each other, students arriving ignored Rin's and Ren's battle; the twins' all-too-frequent spats were simply part of the school scene. Meanwhile, just as Junba was moving to escape the twins' attention, another student, he draped in a white school uniform, a cowlick sticking up from his slicked raven hair, brown starry eyes glittering with passion, firmly seized her hand. As Junba spun around to confront her latest stalker, he dramatically bestowed a courtly kiss on her hand. "Never mind those uncivilized simpletons, Junba-san," he romantically intoned. "I beg you, please! Marry me!"

"Starting a little early with that today, aren't you, Tetsubou!" Junba snarled as she seized him by the arm. "Can't you idiots see I'm not interested in ANY of you!" She then pivoted on her feet. "I only want Jariten!"

The scion of the Mendou-Mizunokoji fortune instantly found himself slammed onto his back thanks to a perfect judo flip! "My . . . " he groaned as he slid back towards the ground, "Mrs. Moroboshi . . . knows how . . . to teach martial arts . . . "

Moving to stand, the only son of Mendou Shuutarou and Mizunokoji Asuka then paused as his ears detected the whistling sound of a pair of large incoming missiles. Everyone in front of the school then winced as Rin and Ren found themselves crushed by the one sure-fire way of stopping any child of Rei in his tracks: the Saturn Five! "Knock it off, you idiots!" Koosei snapped from the front gate as he marched through, the vice-principal trailed by Ataru and Amora. "How many times do I have to tell you to not fight on school grounds!"

Noting what Junba had just done to Tetsubou, Amora grinned as she slunk up to her classmate. "Tetsu-kun," she meowed as she leaned against him. "Are you STILL trying to pick Junba up?" A shake of the head. "Forget her, Tetsu-kun. She's lost to you for all time, Tetsu-kun, recognized to Ten-chan!" Her voice then dropped to a seductive purr as she shifted herself to give him an intimate view of her cleavage. "But Tetsu-kun, I'M still available." A lick of his nose. "And after our last date, VERY willing."

Blood instantly leaked from Tetsubou's nose. "W-what a woman . . . !"

"Amora," Ataru forcefully intoned. "Neither Tetsubou's father nor I want a repeat of what you two did on your _last_ date!"

Amora breathed out in a faux pout as she unpeeled herself from Tetsubou. "Oh, poo! You're no fun, Dad!"

Once freed of his classmate, Tetsubou beat a hasty retreat. While he was quite the ladies' man with other women, the young Mendou always found Amora's advances overpowering and intimidating. "Good morning, Moroboshi-sensei," Junba greeted Ataru with a smile.

"'Morning, Junba." Ataru then noted Koosei giving Rin and Ren the tenth degree by the front door. "Those two bugging you still?"

Junba's smile grew a notch wider. "Not anymore, thanks to Ryooki-sensei."

With that, Ataru, his daughter and his bond-mate's daughter headed together to the front doors. Awaiting them was the principal of Tomobiki High. "Well, well, well," Ozuno Sakura slyly intoned, "On time for a change, Ataru!"

Ataru sighed. "You've been late twelve times this term," Sakura added as she waved an attendance file. "If it keeps up . . . "

"I know, I know," he cut in. "If you'll excuse me, Sakura, my class is waiting."

He turned to head into the foot locker room. "Before you go," the principal cryptically added as she gazed on him. "If you don't change your behaviour around my daughter, I'll personally put a curse on you!"

He stopped, his dark eyes sweeping around to glare intently into her grey ones. "What do you mean **I** misbehave around Seiteki?" Ataru icily wondered. "Your daughter's been putting the moves on me ever since she came here from Butsumetsu Girls' Junior High! You and she should worry. If anyone hands out the punishment, it'll be Lum. If she had her way, your daughter would be burnt toast!"

Unfazed by his warning, Sakura tapped him on the forehead with her spirit-sensor. "Get to class," she ordered. "As your principal I can make your life more miserable than it is now!"

He declines to reply as he proceeded to slip on his indoor shoes, Junba and Amora heading over to their own lockers to get their own indoor shoes. Koosei and Sakura remain by the doors, their eyes following their co-worker's movements. "This isn't really gonna be Ataru's year, Sakura," the vice-principal gently warned as he noted the bemused smile crossing his old girlfriend's face. "Bugging him about Kozue's 'Ataru-itis' isn't going to make him feel better, you know. You're forcing him to quit after all the good work he's put into this place?"

"I know, Koosei," Sakura quietly replied as they turned to head to her office. Awaiting them there beside his favoured space heater, Kotatsuneko was pouring tea for two of his favourite corporeal companions. "Admittedly, it's nice to keep him on his toes," she added as they took their seats, and then she held up a warning finger. "Though I DO avoid pushing it." Taking up her teacup, she took a sip. "Still, there's a good side to all this. This crush Kozue-chan has on him's taken his mind off of what happened to Koishii-chan."

Koosei took his own cup in hand, nodding thanks to the silent cat-ghost before taking a sip. "I'm just pointing out that Ataru's the best teacher we've had in the last ten years," he replied. "And Lum's been the best cultural administrator we've had ever."

"I know." She took another sip of her tea before a grimace crossed her face. "However, I sense a lot is going to happen this year and next." She gazed intently at him. "There's going to be trouble. More trouble then we've had to put up with in a while."

He considered that point for a moment; Koosei had long come to trust Sakura's instincts when it came to matters of a spiritual or mystical nature. "Well," he mused as he gazed at his teacup. "Let's hope not."

* * *

After homeroom period, Ataru stepped into Class 2-4 to commence the day's geography lesson, he taking the place of his daughter's homeroom class teacher, Hanawa Mitsu, the boy's physical education coach and algebra teacher. On seeing him, the class rose in greeting. Placing his briefcase on the desk, he moved to draw out his lesson plans. "Good morning, class." 

The entire class returned the greeting in unison before Junba, the class representative on the student council, ordered them to their seats. As he sets out his sheets, Ataru cannot fail but notice that, in the desk immediately in front of him, the well-endowed girl with long black hair and grey eyes seated there was wearing a VERY tight uniform, the jersey BARELY able to keep her considerable "assets" undercover. "Ozuno S-Seiteki-kun," he then stammered. "Isn't that uniform a little too snug and revealing for school?"

Smiling coyly, Seiteki -- very few people beyond immediate family knew her by her real name, Ozuno Kozue -- leaned over her desk, purposefully revealing her cleavage. "How kind of you to notice, Sensei," she purred. "All my other uniforms were dirty, so I just put on this old one that I found in my closet. It's from when I FIRST started here. It still fits fine, don't you think?"

Sweat-drop. "You . . . you should be more modest, Seiteki-kun. I can see your underwear!"

A giggle. "Why, Sensei! I'm not wearing any."

Steam billowed out of his nose as he took a step back from the desk, his feet stumbling over a garbage can. The others in the class shake their heads as he made a four-point landing in front of Junba's desk. Watching this from her own pace to Seiteki's left, Amora sighed sympathetically. _Poor Dad! Seiteki's on the loose again!_ As she watches the game between her father and her best friend, a devilish grin then appeared on the empath's face. _This is SO predictable! Boring! Maybe I can have a little fun!_

With that, her eyes softly glowed. After recovering from nearly smacking his face on the floorboards, Ataru begins today's geography lesson. Still, he simply could NOT take his eyes off Seiteki. Worse, she was not letting him take his eyes off her. "O-okay, class," Ataru stuttered. "T-today's lesson is on mountains. C-can anyone tell me what the highest mountain on Earth is?" Understandably reluctant to allowed the only person who raised her hand to answer, he then called out, "S-Seiteki?"

Methodically, she stood, angling her body to give him a VERY detailed view of her tight uniform. He appeared horrified on noting that her blouse was on the verge of ripping. "Why the highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest," Seiteki answered as she suggestively gyrated her hips. "It's sooo big . . . " She threw her arms wide, causing the blouse to rip, exposing herself to the dizzy Ataru!

Fujinami Dansei sighed. "Here we go again."

"Place yer bets!" Megane Shinpai called out.

Several students were quick to answer his call. "Oh, dear," Seiteki said, she making NO move to cover herself. "I popped out of my blouse again. I guess I'll have to go topless for the rest of the day. I'm sure you won't mind, Sensei."

Down he went, two streams of blood exploding from his nose into the air! Seiteki looked confused. "Sensei?"

Shinpai and three friends -- the elder sons of the members of Lum's bodyguards; Shinpai himself was Aisuru's nephew -- immediately gathered around the stricken teacher. Paama Omoshiroi counted Ataru out as if he were a boxing referee making the ten-count on a knocked-out prizefighter. Once ten was reached, Chibi Rikoshugi rang a bell. "Time!" Shinpai announced over a microphone. "Six minutes!"

Hearing that, Kakugari Kokishin leapt for joy. "Banzai! I win!"

Reluctantly, the rest of the male student body paid the heavyset teen 1500 yen in coins. "These guys would bet on the outcome of a nuclear war!" Junba muttered to Dansei, the latter sitting to her right.

Dansei twirled her ponytail; outside of that, she was the spitting image of her "father," Fujinami Ryuunosuke, at that age. "Yeah, Aiotoga, you sure got THAT right. They're just as disgusting as Ozuno there!"

She gave Seiteki a disgusted jerk of the head. "It's a wonder anything gets done in this class," Tetsubou then said.

"Deactivate ETH!"

Everyone cried out as "Ataru" then disappeared just as _Ataru_ walked nonchalantly into the room, he followed by a madly-grinning Koosei. "What the . . . ?" Amora exclaimed. "What happened!"

"It was a hologram!" Shinpai gasped.

Koosei chuckled, staring at his friend. "Yes, you just had a taste of our new Emergency Teaching Hologram. Worked well, didn't it?"

Ataru icily smiled, he returning his friend's look and pointedly ignoring the still-exposed Seiteki. "Lovely. Seiteki-kun, you have a week's clean-up duty with Mr. Fujinami starting tonight, which multiplies if you are not in your properly fitting school uniform in two minutes. And Amora," -- he glared at his daughter -- "The NEXT time you try to make me more responsive to Seiteki-kun, you can join her!"

"What!" Amora exclaimed, and then she tried to look innocent. "Dad!"

The glare increased in intensity. "I sensed you trying to wear 'me' down with your powers, young lady. You might be a first-class empath, but I've been at that game a lot longer than you! Meanwhile, as punishment, you can make sure Seiteki-kun is in her real clothes before she returns to class; I thought her bag looked rather large when I saw her come into class this morning over the security monitor."

Humiliated, they quickly withdrew from the class. Shinpai and his friends took their seats as Koosei headed back to his office. Ataru took his place behind the teacher's desk. "Now, let's get onto the _real_ lesson for the day," he said as he pulled out his text.

* * *

In "office row" in the central part of the main floor of the school, Lum watched television in her private office. The Sagussan-enhanced native of Uru served as alien cultural advisor for the whole of the Tomobiki town school board, she monitoring the progress of the growing number of non-Terran students attending Tomobiki High and her sister schools throughout Tokyo's most infamous suburb. Because she was not technically a teacher, Lum enjoyed the added bonus of coming in whenever she felt the need to. 

Currently taking her attention was the morning news show on NHK Tokyo, presenting a report on the Earth Defence Force's first home-built starship. "In five days," -- a reporter indicated the nearly completed vessel, an azure-hued craft resembling a cross between a Kashin-class battlewagon and a Yamato-class battleship -- "The first ever Terran-built starship, U.N.S.S. _Lum-san_, will be launched at the Tokyo Starship Construction Yards in Kawasaki. We talked to the ship's captain, Mendou Shuutarou, about the latest developments . . . "

The video phone rang. Lum pressed a button on her desk to switch the television feed with the video phone feed. Currently on screen was an elderly Oni doctor from the Union consulate in Shinjuku; the main embassy had been shifted to New York City sometime after Pyem Maki began her term as ambassador to the United Nations of Earth. "Doctor!" Lum greeted him with a smile. "Why are you calling now!"

He returned her grin. "I'm calling to inform you that the result of the tests we ran on you are positive. Congratulations."

Lum beamed. "Tcha! So that explains why I've been gaining weight and missing periods." The Moroboshis' usual family doctor, Mizuno Ami from Minato Ward in Tokyo, had referred Lum to the other doctor several weeks before when the Oni had gone to see the Sailor Senshi for her yearly check-up. "Darling'll be so pleased! I'll tell him tonight before we go to bed! Thank you, Sensei!"

A nod. "That's nice. Please make sure you come next month for a check-up. I'll pass on the news to Doctor Mizuno; she contacted me yesterday for an update." He gave her a knowing wink. "We don't want any problems, do we?"

"I will. 'Bye."

Once the television reverted to the news show, it showing the reporter midway through his interview with a mustached Mendou Shuutarou, she absently touched her stomach. "It's about time," Lum quietly intoned. "Now Darling will be happy again."

Then, with a yelp for joy, she leapt up and did a victory flip!

* * *

Morning recess soon came. In the well-equipped nursing station, Ataru enjoyed some tea with Shinobu and Koosei, all three laughing over Seiteki's attempted seduction earlier. The school nurse wore a Sagussan nursing overcoat, the sleeves marked with a nurse's three tabs; it was a parting present from her friends in the Emergency Medical Response Unit after she returned to Tomobiki in the wake of her sojourn in the Congo dealing with an outbreak of Ebola alongside representatives of the World Health Organization and the Belgian military. "They're both wanting attention, Ataru," Shinobu warned her bond-mate, a knowing chuckle in her voice. "When are you going to learn that?" 

"It's gone beyond just 'getting attention.'" Ataru rubbed the bridge of his nose. "First it was the cute notes, then the butt pinching whenever I bend over near her, then hiding in my office wearing just a T-shirt, not to mention the lewd messages she leaves on my video phone answering machine! Why can't she leave me alone? I've made it more than clear that I'm not the person I was twenty years ago."

"It's an age thing," Koosei said. "You and the other boys in your class were the same way with Sakura, remember?" He then winked at his co-worker. "Remember, you DID save Seiteki from those bikers . . . "

Shinobu rolled her eyes. "It's also in her genes. She's inherited Sakura's libido."

Everyone laughed. "So how's Junba?" Ataru asked her bond-mate. "She really blew Amora out of bed this morning."

Koosei blinked. "Is she still having those nightmares!"

The nurse/health teacher/princess of Kyotos frowned. "They seem to have gone away for awhile, but then they returned," she answered as her eyes turned to the ceiling. "It's as if they were trying to tell us something."

"Like most cultures," Koosei mused, "The Vosians believe dreams foretell the future."

"This 'dream' is giving me a pain in the ass," Shinobu then growled. "What's worse is that she's starting to develop her psychic powers. And she KNOWS the difference between her powers and mine. I think she's starting to suspect that I'm not . . . "

Her teeth pressed into her lower lip as she fought to keep from screaming out. "You have to tell her," Ataru warned. "For her sake most of all. She deserves to know who her real parents are and that you're really her godmother."

"I know." Shinobu frowned as she turned to stare at her bond-mate. "But what will it get her, Ataru? What in Lyna's name will it get her? We don't know what happened to Nassur and Benten. No one's been able to find any proof that they're either dead or alive. Not even Varanko or Dakejinzou have found any clues. It's like they disappeared from the face of existence. I know Sister Niap'yeng's prediction about our finding out what happened to them is coming due sometime this month or the next, but . . . "

"But," Ataru echoed her before he added, "Aiotoga's got Nassur's spirit and Benten's temper as well as their physical gifts. Poor Ten will have his hands full if they ever get married. She's just like you were when you were younger."

"I DON'T want to be reminded of my high school days!" Shinobu snapped.

Koosei moved to calm the nurse. "Down, girl, down. Those days are long over. We're all friends now."

* * *

Sometime later, after the bell for the third class rang, Koosei and Ataru headed to their classrooms. "These days, Seiteki sometimes makes me regret saving her life from those motorcycle goons," the latter declared as his eyes turned down. 

Koosei continued to try being cheerful. "She's just like her mother was at that age. If it's any help to you, I should know." He soon noticed that had no effect on his friend. "It's not gonna be a good year for you, is it, Ataru?"

Ataru's lips twitched. "No, it's not. This is the class Koishii-chan could've been a part of had she . . . "

A tear trailed down his cheek. Koosei shook his head. "I wonder," Ataru then mused. "Would Koishii have been as beautiful as Junba? Or as smart as Dansei or Kai? Or maybe as flirtatious as Seiteki or Amora?"

"Does Amora know about Koishii?" the vice-principal wondered.

"No," Ataru replied with a shake of his head, and then he sighed. "She just knows that Lum had a miscarriage when the fight over Uru went down; the same story everyone's heard. Reiko's the only one who knows the full truth." A pause. "Sometimes I feel so grateful to Elle for creating Amora. She's been a lifesaver for both Lum and I, although we wish she wasn't so boy-hungry and so fond of using her powers to play jokes on people! But Amora's always sensed she's not the child we really wanted. I don't want to break her heart with the truth."

With that, he ascended to the second floor. Koosei watched him go up before he sighed, and then he headed to his class.

* * *

Lunch time . . . 

Seiteki, currently properly fitted in her normal school uniform, relaxed beside her best friend as they enjoyed the contents of their home-made bentou boxes. "What a dirty trick Sensei played, using that stupid holographic teacher program!" the principal's daughter exclaims. "Nobody in this place has a sense of humour! It was only a joke! I wasn't actually gonna go topless all day!"

Amora sighed. "Sei-chan, Dad's evolved far beyond what most of the older folks here once saw him as," she warned as she gave the other girl a sympathetic smile. "It's called 'growing up.' There's no way you'll ever come close to turning him on."

Seiteki glared at her. "Why aren't _you_ mad! He caught you trying to use your powers to make him more sensitive to me!"

"True, he did," Amora admitted. "I might be more powerful than he or Mom, but they have years of experience over me. If they guard themselves before I do anything, I can't touch 'em." She then snidely grinned at Seiteki. "Besides, you made it SO blatantly obvious what you wanted to do! You ought to develop patience, Sei-chan. You'll never get anywhere with any guy the way you're going now!"

Seiteki snorted. "I'll never let Sensei go!"

The others overhearing them sighed resignedly. Seiteki's comical attempts at attracting Ataru's attention were one way to relieve the dull, daily drone of classes, but her stubborn refusal to see the obvious was grating on people's nerves, even Amora's. Meanwhile, Junba was enjoying her own lunch with Dansei, Tetsubou and several other students. "Seiteki's so lucky," Junba declared as she gazed on her classmate, an envious sigh then escaping her. "She's got such a nice figure! Look at me. I still look like a little girl!"

"At least everyone knows you ARE a girl, Aiotoga," Dansei quipped as she waved to her boy's uniform. Fortunately, unlike Ryuunosuke, Dansei doesn't have the first kanji of her name plastered all over her back as her grandfather, Fujinami Fujimi, had done for his "son" when Ryuunosuke had attended classes. "Everyone thinks I'm a guy thanks to my stupid grandfather and his weird ideas about raising kids."

"Junba-san would be considered very pretty if more people would quit measuring beauty using the American standards," Ukeru Ayako -- the only person ever to come to Tomobiki High wearing a flowery kimono in lieu of a normal sailor suit uniform -- commented with a sneer.

"What's that to you?" Kobamu Ken, a mildly handsome young man with his grey eyes behind ever-present sunglasses, wondered. "I think a nice big pair like Seiteki's will look great on any girl!"

"Oh really, Kenshiro-san!" Ayako snapped.

"It's Ken!" he barked; Ken never liked anyone calling him by full name.

"Who cares?" Ayako wondered. "A girl like Ozuno Seiteki is nothing but jail-bait. At least Amora-san behaves with some decorum."

"I'm wondering if that was a compliment or an insult," Amora mused on hearing that comment.

"True, she is jail-bait," added Teki Seiryo, a kendou-ka with his black hair tied in a braided pigtail in the same fashion as one of his martial arts heroes, the legendary Saotome Ranma of Nerima Ward's Fuurinkan district. "She has no honour at all. Much less tact."

"Agreed, Seiryo-san," Tetsubou mused before he turned to gaze once more on the class' most popular student. "But, Junba-san, if you're really concerned about your breast size, why don't you have a breast implant?"

Mass face-fault! Junba decked him with her fist! "How DARE you suggest such a thing! Who do you think I am! Seiteki!"

Tetsubou crashed into a wall on the other side of the room. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" Junba growled. "At least _Jariten_ appreciates me as I am!" She put extra weight behind her boyfriend's name to make sure the class' richest student finally got the point. "I'll tell him what you said to me and I hope he roasts you where you stand!"

"It was . . . only a . . . suggestion . . . " Tetsubou groaned.

Junba stormed out, Dansei in her wake. "'Maybe you should have a breast implant,' he says!" The more she repeated the comment her classmate made, the angrier the class representative became. Finally, she spat out, "Pervert!"

"Aiotoga, wait!" Dansei called out.

Everyone returned to their meals. "What a temper!" Tetsubou painfully comment as he slowly made his way back to his seat. "Junba-san should be like a Tritonian! At least they don't get mad!"

* * *

And speaking of the current inhabitants of Neptune's largest moon . . . 

Near the capital of the Kingdom of Neptune-Triton, Koori City, this day, everything is quiet. Though "quiet" on this planet always takes into account the endless screaming howl of the constant winter winds, which blew across the surface of this world from pole to pole. Several Tritonian women, accustomed to the noise, were busy shovelling the ever-present snow, chattering amiably amongst themselves.

To the natives of Earth, Triton would automatically be rated as a "cold" place.

This day, there was something of a heat wave, temperatures hovering at a "balmy" minus forty degrees Celsius.

The "heat" had set off a siesta-like atmosphere. At an isolated observation post some distance from the Royal Palace, a lone guard busied himself scanning the frozen wastes beyond with a pair of computerized macro-binoculars. After doing a sweep, he moved to wipe the moisture off his brow as another guard arrived. "I'm relieving you," the newcomer announced. "Go home and get out of this heat."

The first gazed on his co-worker with a relieved nod. "Thank you. This sweat's driving me crazy! Have a pleasant shift."

Before he could respond, a bright light flashed over the blue disk of Neptune. Both guards were startled. "A comet?" one wondered.

The other quickly scanned through a book containing data on known astronomical phenomena. "Nothing scheduled to pass over us today."

The light then dropped, impacting the frozen ground several hundred metres away! Triton itself seemed to tremble for several seconds as if the whole of the moon was being shaken by a baby the size of Sol itself. The guards struggled to maintain their balance as the ground finally settled under their feet. One of them then drew out binoculars to scan the crash site. There, the wreckage of a frigate-class ship bearing Vosian markings smouldered. "Koori's Castle!" the guard exclaimed with characteristic Tritonian calm. "That was a ship."

"Excuse me," the other then stated before he moved to enter a nearby communications shed. "I must notify a rescue squad and alert the Defence Command. I must also inform the Queen; we could be talking about an invasion."

* * *

Hours later, the crash site was a hive of activity. Rescue personnel rushed about searching through the wreck while Royal Tritonian Defence Force personnel stood guard nearby. "Scan for survivors and check for radiation leaks," the rescue commander ordered as he took charge of the scene. "Keep a lookout for anything unusual. This doesn't look like a Lannarkite ship, but there could be some aboard." 

A grandly-decorated hovercraft then roared overhead, it manoeuvring to land nearby. A nearby junior officer was quick to note the snowflake coat of arms on the doors. "The Queen is arriving!" he stoically announced.

The hovercraft dropped near the mobile rescue command centre. The door immediately opened, allowing Oyuki to emerge. Save for a more elaborate crown and finer clothes, the present occupant of the Throne of Koori had not changed over the last decade-and-a-half. Regally, she strolled up to the rescue commanding. Personnel not busy with their duties immediately stopped to pay the proper respect. "My Liege," the commander reported. "We're checking the wreckage for survivors as we speak. I'm sorry that there's nothing more to report."

"That's all right," Oyuki quietly replied. "I have no wish to interfere with your investigation. Please continue."

Everyone smartly returned to work. A young enlisted soldier soon rushed up to Oyuki and the commander to make his report: "My Liege, Commander, we've extracted a survivor out of the wreckage." He indicated the downed ship with a wave of his hand. "She's in a very bad way. I'm sorry but I must be bold enough to recommend that she be taken to the hospital with great haste."

"Make it so," the commander ordered.

The soldier raced off. Seconds later, a hover-stretcher carrying a blanket-covered body and two attendants lifted away from the scene. As they moved to pass their queen, Oyuki raised her arm to signal them to wait. As her eyes fell on the stretcher, a woman's hand slipped out from under the blanket. Encircling the limp grey-sheathed wrist was a silver and red leather ornament.

"That bracelet!" Oyuki gasped. "It . . . cannot be."

Instinctively, the queen rushed forward, her hand reaching out. A nearby soldier quickly imposed himself in her path. "Please excuse my disrespect, My Liege," he apologized, bowing. "For your safety, you must not come any closer to the survivor. She may be radioactive."

Jolting in shock on hearing his words, the queen gazed on him for a moment before nodding. "Yes. I apologize; you are in the right."

With that, Oyuki watched as the stretcher was loaded into a hover-ambulance. She turned to the commander. "Please keep me informed on further developments," she politely ordered before returning to her hovercraft. Unnoticed by the rescue crew, though, her thoughts were as stormy as Jupiter's Great Red Spot. _Oh, it's really you, old friend! We thought you were dead . . . !_

* * *

Some time after school . . . 

Amora was busy preparing supper for herself and a guest. The menu was the usual: omelette with meat plus some naturally-ground eta powder for one and a heady pinch of garlic for the other. Much to Lum's consternation -- and frequent bouts of crying every time she came close to Amora's cooking! -- Amora was as addicted to garlic as she was to chocolate! As she moved from cutting board to stove to herb rack, a tune from Kajiura Yuki drifted from her lips. In preparation for a night on the town, she was currently dressed in a white shirt and red slacks; the wardrobe was chosen to flatter without revealing anything to potential onlookers. As she moved to flip one of the frying omelettes onto a plate, her eyes flashed just as Junba's voice hailed from the foyer: "Hey, Amora! Is Mrs. Moroboshi around!"

"Set yourself down, Aiotoga!" Amora replied. "Mom's working a little late tonight. Your tutorial's delayed."

"Okay."

Junba kicked off her running shoes in the entranceway and headed for the living room, she currently dressed in a blue and red leotard with red leg warmers, a blue Tomobiki High Usagis T-shirt underneath. "You had dinner yet?" Amora then asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Junba breathed out as she collapsed on a chair by the table.

A minute later, Amora carried the completed omelettes to the living room table. Sitting before Junba, she dug in. "I told you I wasn't hungry," Junba reminded her as she pointed to the extra dish.

"This isn't for you," Amora blurrily replied before she swallowed her bite. "It's for Jariten. He'll be over in a few minutes."

On hearing the name, Junba zoned out as VERY romantic thoughts rushed in like water thundering through the Niagara River gorge to chase away whatever sense of rationality she had. "Ten-chan . . . !" she moaned as her whole world went pink.

Amora sighed. Romance was one thing. Sappiness, she could do without. "Typical of someone who's recognized someone else."

Confusion then crossed the class representative's face as her mind tripped back from the Harlequin Romance version of the Twilight Zone. "Amora, how do you know all these things, anyway?" she wondered.

"Hanging around Senba of the Intergalactic Boy-Chasers' Club," Amora explained. "Whenever a Vosian or part-Vosian finds the ideal mate, they recognize them and they're paired forever. Atop that, I'm distantly related to Vosians through Dad and Hibaa-chan."

"Who says I'm Vosian?"

"Well, your ears are the first clue." Amora indicated the extremities in question with a wave of her hand. "And yes, while there are other tapered-eared races out there, you also haven't aged a day in nearly three years. The standard Sagussan aging process slows down AFTER puberty. Then there's your pe'cha bond with Dansei and your recognition to Ten-chan. Also, your psychic powers are a lot like Senba's."

"Well," Junba breathed out. "I don't know who my father really is. My mom won't tell me."

Hearing that explanation, contempt stormed through Amora's eyes. "Aiotoga, that witch who CLAIMS to BE your mother," she growls, "Is bullshitting you. You should demand the truth from her. I would!"

Junba gazed on her host, and then she nodded. "Someday I will." She then shrugged, whimsically smiling. "It's funny I recognized Ten-chan of all people. He's so much older than me. Then there's what happened to his first girlfriend. You almost forced us together."

"Well, my powers sensed your arrival at that magic time. And with Ten-chan depressed over what happened to Minami, well . . . " Amora smiled. "Plus, there was just NO WAY that Ten-chan wanted any sort of relationship with Reiko-neechan, even if they had finally buried the hatchet by the time she started attending the Ishinomaki Young Women's Academy. And by the time anyone could've persuaded Ten-chan and Reiko-neechan to go somewhere, Mina-neechan was involved and she SURE wasn't interested in sharing Reiko-neechan with anyone else outside a Sagussan-style marei'cha bonding." A shrug. "So, in the end, why not kill two birds with one stone?"

Their eyes flash. "Ten-chan's here!" Junba chirped happily as she bolted up, immediately rushing for the foyer.

Amora slowly followed her. "No doubt about that."

As they arrived at the entranceway, a very handsome young Oni male dressed in an Urusian Defence Force duty uniform, ensign insignia on his collars, entered. He resembled a male, single-horned version of Lum. "I'm here!" Jariten announced loudly.

Within a second, he crashed to the floor after Junba leapt at him to smother him with kisses.

"Ah," Amora declared with a chuckle. "True love conks all."

* * *

Minutes later, Jariten finished his omelette as he chatted with Amora and Junba, he relaying the latest news from the shipyards. "The _Lum-san_ is almost ready for her maiden voyage," the ensign finally declared. "There's some finishing-up work to be done, though. It's hard to believe a starship would need so much work on it before going into space." 

"The christening is in a few days," Amora mused, she failing to hide her smile on noting Junba gazing longingly at Jariten. "I'm sure Captain Mendou'll want everything to proceed without a hitch."

"Speaking of hitches," Jariten said before wiping his lips with a napkin, and then he turned to Junba. "There's some unfinished business between myself and Junba."

Junba blinked. "What do you mean, Ten-chan?"

In answer, Jariten drew a black box from his pants pocket. "This, Aiotoga."

Junba stared confusedly at it. "What's this?"

"Open it and find out," Amora urged.

Junba reached over to open the small box. Enclosed there were two tiger star engagement rings. Junba's jaw dropped in shocked surprise on seeing them. "They're . . . uh . . . " she sputtered before regaining some control of herself, "Beautiful!"

He then took one to slip it onto Junba's finger. "I've already asked your mother," Jariten reported. "She gave us her blessings if we wait until after the _Lum-san_'s shakedown cruise is over, about three years from now."

"Are you gonna do it?" Amora asked.

The answer was instantaneous: "Yes! Oh, yes!"

The couple kissed. Automatically, Amora drew a handkerchief to wipe her moist eyes. "How nice. You both make a lovely couple."

The video phone then rang. "Now who could that be?" Amora wondered as she rose to answer it. "Not another salesman, I hope."

It wasn't. "Oh, Amora-chan," Oyuki hailed after the transmission went through. "Is your mother home?"

Amora shook her head. "Sorry, Oyuki-bachan. Neither Mom nor Dad are around right now. You want to leave a message?"

"I would prefer to speak to Lum," Oyuki gravely said. "Do you know where Miyake Junba is? I called her home but no one answered."

"Yes, she's here. Do you want to talk with her?"

"What I must tell her, I would prefer to say face-to-face." The queen of Triton then sighed before she enigmatically added, "I would appreciate it if you brought Junba to Triton. What needs to be said, needs to be told in person."

"I'll ask." Amora moved to press the cutoff button. "'Bye." Once the link was she severed, she gazed confusedly at the darkened screen, wondering what that was all about. "Junba, you hear that?" she then called out.

"Yeah," Junba stands. "I'm free. Let's go to see Queen Oyuki."

She then turned to Jariten. They held hands, gazing longingly into each other's eyes. "Sorry, Ten-chan," Junba apologized as the light around them sparkled. Violin music simmered softly in the background. "I must leave thee but for a moment. However, I shall return."

"Your presence will be sore missed, Aiotoga," Jariten intoned over the sound of violins. "But I await your return. And I shall inform your mother of your absence, my beloved . . . "

"WILLYA QUIT IT WITH THE AWFUL ROMANTIC DIALOGUE!" Amora barked.

The newly engaged couple released each other as everything around them returned to normal. "Sorry," Jariten mumbled an apology as he scratched the back of his head. "Just be careful, Aiotoga."

Junba smiled. "Always, Ten-chan."

"Let's go," Amora huffed as she drew out a remote to summon Lum's scout from its hangar at Toranoseishin Finances' Tomobiki offices downtown. "You're engaged for only two minutes and already, you're sounding like a bad weekday afternoon soap opera!"

Jariten watched them as they left. Suddenly, his smile faded as a feeling of dread seemed to overwhelm him.

"Why do I feel like all our dreams will end on Triton?"

* * *

Hours later . . . 

Lum's saucer-shaped scout ship proceeded to Triton. On the bridge, Amora -- she had obtained her small starship pilot's license four years before -- piloted while Junba sat nearby, lost in thought. "I know Oyuki-sama and your mother are friends, Amora," she quietly mused, "And that she and Ryooki-sensei are lovers." A shrug rolled her shoulders. "So why would she want to see me? I've only met her once."

"I'm as confused as you, Aiotoga," Amora replied as Saturn passed to starboard. "It must be important if she wants us right away."

Silence fell as the class representative considered that, and then she started to fret. "Something terrible's going to happen."

"That's weird," Amora said after considering the point. "I have the same feeling."

* * *

The scout landed an hour later outside the Tritonian Royal Palace. Waiting in the reception lounge were Oyuki, several attendants, some security personnel and a couple of girls shovelling snow. Oyuki smiled as the landing hatch lowered. "Oh, they're here." 

Junba and Amora disembarked, both high school students sensibly clad in hooded, extreme-weather parkas, thermal gloves and over-pants. "Ah," Oyuki hailed as she approached them. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I hope my request didn't come at a bad time."

Amora smiled as they bowed to the queen. "No, there's nothing pressing."

Oyuki then gazed at Amora's classmate. "You've grown so much, Junba-chan. You look so much like your mother."

Junba blinked. "That's funny. Everyone says I _don't_ look like my mother."

Amora stepped in to cover the gaff: "Maybe you do if you're far enough away."

Oyuki raised an eyebrow; it was easy for her to understand Amora's oblique message. She then cleared her throat. "This way, please."

"What was so important that you wanted to see Junba?" Amora wondered.

"Yeah," Junba agreed. "Triton's nice but I prefer going to warmer places."

* * *

Minutes later, a hovercar carried the three women to Koori City Hospital. Oyuki led Junba and Amora through the busy hallways to the intensive care ward. "Why are we in the hospital?" Junba asked with a blink. 

"Neither of us is sick." Amora's lips twisted. "Besides, the emotions I sense at hospitals are so depressing."

Oyuki smiled sympathetically. "I apologize. However, what requires Junba's attention is here."

The high school students exchanged looks. "Why?" Junba asked with another blink. "Are they sick?"

"Not exactly," Oyuki replied with a sigh. "Earlier today, a starship crashed outside the city. There was only one person aboard. We rescued her and placed her here for treatment."

They entered ICU room four, a small space crammed with high-tech medical equipment and a team of doctors and nurses hovering over a patient on a narrow bed. When Oyuki and her guests arrived, one of the doctors bowed to the queen. "How is the patient?" Oyuki asked.

"She is fine, My Liege," the doctor reported. "Her injuries are minor: a broken arm, two cracked ribs and a mild concussion. There's no radiation poisoning but she has yet to fully regain consciousness."

"May we see her?"

"As long as you remain behind the barrier."

He indicated the force field protecting the patient from outside contaminants. "Of course," Oyuki acknowledged as she motioned to Junba and Amora to follow. As soon as the three got a good enough view, the queen announced, "This is who I wanted you to see."

They gaze onto an all-too familiar Fukunokami woman, her silver and crimson battlesuit currently exchanged for a hospital gown, bandages on left arm and forehead, she hooked to a dozen monitors. "That's the woman in my dream!" Junba gasped. "She does exist!"

Amora blinked in shocked disbelief. "B-b-Benten . . . ?"

Oyuki blinked, surprised. "You know her, Amora-chan?"

Amora vigorously nodded. "Yeah! My parents told me about her. She disappeared seventeen years ago with her husband." She indicated the unconscious hunter with a hand. "There're statues of them in Heroes Park."

Junba nodded. "I know them. I used to play around them a lot when I was a kid. I always wished I could meet them someday."

"How did she get here?" Amora wondered.

"We don't know what happened to her that brought her here," Oyuki replied. "The logbook was lost in the crash. Surprising since the ship was upgraded by the Sagussans prior to the Planet of Shadows mission."

Amora gazed anew at the long-missing hunter. "Funny. Benten-bachan was the same age as Mom was when she disappeared, but she looks like she hasn't aged a day. Even married to a Vosian, she would age some, wouldn't she?"

"That's still a mystery," Oyuki admitted. "But I have one clue: There is evidence of hibernation sickness."

"Somebody froze her?" Junba gasped.

"And she has been thawed recently, too. But sadly, there was no sign of Nassur, even though the ship was the _Renegade_."

Blink. "Who's Nassur?"

"Benten-bachan's husband. He was Mom's first combat teacher when they, Oyuki-bachan and Ran-bachan were all in galactic junior high school," Amora explained. "They were both very close to my parents, especially Mom. This is strange."

"I know," Oyuki said. "That's why I want you to take Benten to Ozuno Sakura. Maybe she can determine what happened to her."

Amora frowned. "I'd prefer Budou-sensei to Ozuno-sensei."

"Still, do you think it's safe considering her injuries?" Junba wondered.

"Every precaution will be taken for Benten's safety," Oyuki assured them with a smile. "Please be careful with her. The concussion will confuse and disorient her for a while. She could be violent if provoked."

Amora chuckled. "Do **I** look like I'd provoke a fight?"

Junba gazed at her friend. "After what happened between you and Tetsubou? Can you HONESTLY say that?"

Amora blushed. "I'll personally supervise things for your journey," Oyuki said before heading out of the room.

Amora nodded, and then she stared at her classmate, her attention still completely focused on Benten. "Something wrong?"

Junba sighed. "I was just wondering why I'm always dreaming of this woman. I've never met her."

"I'll oversee what they're doing," Amora announced as she moved to give her privacy.

Junba nodded gratefully. "I'll stay here."

Amora headed to the door, and then she stopped, turning to gaze anew at her classmate. _Funny!_ she mentally mused. _Aiotoga and Benten-bachan look so alike, they could be mother and daughter. But, that's impossible . . ._

_Is it?_

* * *

Lum's scout proceeded to Earth an hour later. Benten, clad in her chainless battlesuit, rested in the small medical station. Amora and Junba stood on the bridge, the latter lost in thought. The silence was almost palpable. 

Junba then sighed. "I wonder. Who was Benten?"

"According to Budou Chie-sensei and my mom," Amora answered, "She was a close friend to my parents. Her husband Nassur was a great hero and warrior. I've heard his name mentioned in some of the nightclubs on other planets I've frequented."

Junba gazed at Amora. "There's something VERY familiar about her. And it's more than the dreams and that statue in Heroes' Park."

Silence fell as Amora considered her reply. "Junba . . . this may come as a shock to you, but . . . "

"What, Amora?"

"I don't think your mother is Miyake Shinobu."

Hearing that, Junba's eyes flashed. "What do you mean!"

"Look at the evidence!" Amora snapped as she returned her classmate's glare. "You're part-Vosian; the evidence is as plain as your ears and powers. Even if your father was Vosian -- which I've always believed he is! -- Sagussan genetics would take precedence!"

"That's conjecture," Junba disagreed, shaking her head. "Besides, even if Mom DID mate with a Vosian, it doesn't automatically imply her genes would dominate! Besides, have you ever heard of successful Sagussan-Vosian couplings!"

"On Sagussa, there are some, yes. But, listen, Aiotoga," -- Amora sighed -- "Looking at you and looking at Benten-bachan's convinced me that Shinobu-bachan isn't your mother! You and Benten-bachan look too much alike for you not to related in some way!"

Silence fell as the class representative considered the point. "Maybe you're right," Junba finally conceded as she stood to exit the bridge. "I need to think about it. I'm going to lay down for a while."

"Sure, go ahead."

Amora returned her attention to the controls. Junba stepped off the bridge. Watching her through the corner of her eye until she had departed, Amora then gazed at the passing starfield. "Just what is going on here!" the empath hissed to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the scout's small sick bay, Benten thrashed about in her sleep. Her face was covered in sweat, as if the hunter herself was caught in a middle of a struggle. "N-Nassur," she mumbled. "H-hurry up . . . " 

_Benten . . ._

The hunter went still as the voice gasped an instruction: get help! Benten's eyes snapped open robot-like. Sitting up, she examined herself, and then the room. Recognizing nothing around her, she leapt out of bed. Growling, she slunk out of sick bay.

* * *

On the bridge, Amora watched the ship pass Jupiter. "There's a conspiracy going on here," she mused aloud to herself. "Everyone seems to be in on it . . . including my parents . . . eh!" 

Her eyes flashed as her hearing picked up stealthy footsteps approaching from aft. Turning, she looks at the open doorway leading to the rest of the ship. No one there. "Junba? Is that you?" she called out.

No response. Amora set the helm on automatic as she stood up. Using her powers to confirm what she initially sensed. "Is somebody out there?" she asks again, walking cautiously towards the corridor leading aft.

Gazing to the back, she quickly realized just how intimidating the corridor looked when her mother's ship was in warp. "H-hello?"

Something snarling lunged at her! Before she could react, Amora was slammed into the deck, pinned down by her attacker. Looking up, the teenager's eyes widened on seeing Benten, the Fukunokami hunter glaring at her with predatory eyes. "Benten-bachan, y-you're awake!" Amora sputtered in an attempt to sound cheerful. "Y-you shouldn't be up! You're hurt!"

Benten leaned closer to inspect her best friend's adopted daughter. Amora shuddered as the hunter's growl picked up in intensity. "W-what's wrong, Oba-chan!" she stammered. "You don't look so good. Why don't you relax in sick bay for a while?"

Benten's only response was one garbled word: "Elle!"

A karate chop flew straight for Amora's forehead! She dodged just in time as the hand forced a nice dent in the deck. The noise was enough to wake Junba. "What's going on!" the class representative wondered as she bolted up. "Are we under attack!"

Leaping to her feet, she raced for the bridge. By then, Amora was able to slip out of Benten's grasp, she currently ducking the various punches and kicks the deranged hunter was firing at her without any sign of letup. Luckily, nothing vital had been damaged. Yet.

"Oba-chan, please!" Amora gasped as she ducked a kick. "I don't want to hurt you! Calm down!"

Benten nearly decapitated Amora with a punch. "Die, Elle!"

They continued their macabre dance around the bridge. _Can't outrun her forever!_ Amora panted. _I gotta use my powers to stop her!_

Amora concentrated as Benten prepared a kick to the head. Before the blow could land, Amora nailed her with an empathic force bolt from her eyes! With a flash of light, Benten was hurled across the bridge to slam into a bulkhead. The hunter was momentarily stunned. Amora dropped to her knees; she was normally unable to maintain her strength after unleashing such an attack.

The empath stared at Benten as the latter began to shake off the blast's effects. "I'm not Elle!" Amora panted. "I'm Moroboshi Amora! The girl Ataru and Lum adopted, born on Elle as a laboratory child, remember!"

No luck; Benten's only response was an angry snarl. Amora finds herself the target of another charge. _She won't listen . . ._ Amora moaned to herself as she braced for the impact.

It didn't come.

A punch had just sent her rolling across the deck to slam into the helm! Amora's eyes opened, she looking up to see Junba shielding her from Benten, her fists pulled back and ready. "Just what is going on here!"

"Be careful, Aiotoga!" Amora warned as she tried to stand. "Benten-bachan's flipped! She'll kill you! She nearly killed me!"

Benten jolted. "Aiotoga . . . ?" she whispered.

"I knew we shouldn't have taken her!" Junba snarled. "Look, Benten-san, we're not your enemy! We're your friends!"

The still somewhat-dazed hunter turned to gaze at the young woman who just knocked her down, the emotions on her face transforming from shock to disbelief -- and then to sheer joy. "J-Junba?" she stuttered, her eyes tearing. "My Aiotoga . . . my . . . daughter . . . !"

She collapsed to the deck, her hands flying to her face as sobs stole her voice. Junba remained still, thunderstruck by the hunter's words. "'Daughter?'" she finally gasped. "B-but . . . my mother's name's Miyake Shinobu."

Amora finally staggered up to her friend's side. "I was right. Benten's your mother . . . which means Nassur's your father."

Hearing that, Junba's eyes began to smoke with rage.

* * *

Shinobu sneezed! 

"Bless you," Jariten called out.

"Thanks," Shinobu blurrily muttered as she wiped her nose with a handkerchief.

In the living room of the Miyake home, Shinobu and Jariten were enjoying evening tea with Megane. Night had fallen over Tomobiki. All three seem anxious about what was happening with Junba and Amora. "Why did Amora take Junba to Triton, Ten?" Shinobu asked.

"Don't know," Jariten replied with a shake of his head before a pensive look crossed his face. "Something's going on . . . and I can't help feeling that something really bad's about to happen."

"I sense it, too," Megane added as he gazed forlornly at the ceiling. "There's something ominous in the air. Bad luck is coming for both you and Junba, Jariten."

Disgusted sighs burst from his companions as they glared at him. "Still saying that, eh?" Jariten growled sarcastically before he turned back to his tea. "That joke was old even when Cherry was still alive!"

"What do you expect from Cherry's student!" Shinobu snorted. "Incompetent idiot!"

"That's strange," -- Megane glared at Shinobu -- "Coming from a woman who's never married."

Wrong thing to say. "Keep it up, Megane," Shinobu threateningly growled, "And you'll be joining Cherry in Nirvana!"

"Bah!" Megane spat out before he sipped his tea. "Nothing can defeat my spiritual powers and they're never wrong!"

Jariten seemed ready to roast him. "Oh, right! They're NEVER wrong!"

The loud noise of a starship arriving on the street next door drowns any reply from the monk. Jariten rushed over to a nearby window to see Lum's scout landing. "That must be them!" he announced. "C'mon!"

He and Shinobu raced outside. Megane remained to finish his tea. "It doesn't matter," he muttered. "They can't escape their fate."

* * *

Outside, Jariten and Shinobu watched as the former's fiancée and her classmate disembark, both carrying someone on an anti-gravity stretcher. "Junba! Amora!" Shinobu called out as they approach. 

They stop, their eyes focusing intently on the nurse. On the stretcher suspended from their hands, Benten soundlessly slept. Seeing her, Shinobu and Jariten froze, both stunned. "Benten!" they gasped together, and then Shinobu stared at Junba. "But how?"

Angry stares answered. Amora remained silent as Junba pointed accusingly at her godmother. "You . . . " spat out from the class representative's lips. "You stay away from me, you . . . you . . . you IMPOSTER!"

The nurse was frozen still by those words. "'Imposter!'" she finally exclaimed. "Junba, how can you say that to your own mother!"

"The hell you are!" Junba then pointed at Benten. "SHE'S my real mother!"

The older woman ducked the glare coming from her accuser. "Junba, please! Please listen!" she then said pleadingly. "When you were a baby. we found you in an escape pod outside Tokyo with mementoes from your real mother and father . . . !"

"So why didn't you ever tell me I was adopted!" Junba icily pressed. "Didn't you think it would be important for me to know?"

"I wanted to! I planned to!" Shinobu admitted. "But the time never seemed right. Then, it just was easier to not tell."

A slap! "You witch!" Junba tearfully growled. "How dare you keep something that important from me!"

Jariten moved to place his hand on Junba's shoulder. "Aiotoga . . . "

Same act, different target! "Don't you DARE use my nickname again, Jariten!" she screamed. "Only friends use it. And YOU," -- her finger shot up to stab him in his chest -- "Are no longer my friend!"

Taken aback by that statement, Jariten then tried to say something. Junba cut him off. "I bet you thought it was funny, didn't you!" she mused. "You knew who my real parents were and I didn't! I bet you laughed yourself to sleep every night that we dated!"

An adamant shake of the head. "No! You're wrong! I never laughed at you! How could I! I love you!"

"I HATE you!" Junba snapped. "It's over now! Get lost!"

With that declaration, she threw her engagement ring to the ground, and then she rushed into the house, sobs escaping her. Jariten watched her go, and then he quietly picked up the ring, his sadness all too apparent as he held it in his hands. Just a few short hours before, this ring had brought him so much joy. With a resigned sigh, he then dropped it into his uniform pocket.

Amora walked up to him. "Ten-chan . . . ?"

"Shut up, Amora! Just shut up!"

With that, he lunged into the air, heading south for the dockyards. Amora watched him go, and then, after a shake of the head, turned to redefine "glare" at her father's bond-mate. Right then, Lum flew up to land before them. Her eyes were quick to lock on the prostate figure on the stretcher, they widening in shock as she recognizes her long-lost friend. "B-b-Benten!" she gasped. "How!"

No answer. Lum was quick to detect Amora's rage and Shinobu's melancholy. "What's going on?" Lum wondered. "Why such faces?"

"Junba just learned she's adopted!" Amora icily growled before she stomped away.

Lum watched her march off to their home, and then she turned to Shinobu. "How can this be? How did Benten get here?"

"Ask Amora, Lum," Shinobu growled. "She knows!"

"Ya . . . sure," Lum mumbled before she turned to fly off after her daughter.

Shinobu sighed as she gazed at Benten for a moment. She then jolted on hearing crashing noises from inside the house. She turned as Megane calmly stepped out, he nursing a bruise on his head. "I suggest you look out!" he muttered. "Junba's on the warpath!"

"So I see," Shinobu said as she passed by.

The monk then eerily smiled. "I told you so."

Shinobu froze on hearing that, an annoyed shudder flowing through her, as Megane headed back to his camp. She then marched into her house. Inside, everything seemed in order, save for a wrecked living room table. Shinobu then made her way to Junba's bedroom. The door was ajar. Listening in, she was quick to detect her daughter's sobs. Glancing in, she saw Junba crying into her pillow.

"Junba . . . ?"

"Go away!" Junba snapped. "Leave me alone!"

Shinobu gently slipped into the bedroom. "I'm sorry you had to discover the truth _this_ way." She sat beside her, a hand reaching over to squeeze Junba's shoulder. "We are related in a way. I'm your godmother. I adopted you after Benten and Nassur disappeared."

No effect. "Please, Junba," Shinobu said pleadingly. "Benten's parents couldn't take you in; Fukunokami was facing a possible war with Varakos then, remember?" A pause. "And Nassur's mother couldn't take you in; she lives on Sagussa. I didn't want to see you raised in an orphanage. That's why I adopted you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I wanted to. I really did! Our lives just got in our way."

Junba stares tearfully at her. "W-why did my real parents abandon me? Why didn't they keep me?"

Without hesitation, fingers reached up to brush Junba's tears away. "I don't know. Maybe we can find out now that your mother's back. One thing I do know: Nassur and Benten loved you to the core of their beings. If they left you, they had no other choice."

Finally, the younger woman's sobbing subsided. Junba slowly sat up to gaze on the woman who had stepped in to save her from some unknown fate. She then leaned forward and the two embraced. "Oh, Mom!" Junba sobbed. "I'm so sorry . . . "

"I'm sorry too, Aiotoga," Shinobu apologized, a smile then crossing her face. "Mistakes were made but none of them were meant to hurt you. I deserved it for keeping everything a secret for so long. Now let's bring your real mother in!"

Junba jolted. "Oops! That's not the way to gain a mother's trust!"

Both laughed as they rose to head back outside.

* * *

Sometime later, Lum returned home after docking her scout at the Toranoseishin Finances Tower. Amora reclined on the living room floor, her eyes gazing absently at the ceiling. A nearby clock chimes midnight. Marching in, Lum moved to lean over Amora. "My ship's docked!" the older woman announced. "Now, kindly explain what's going on, young lady!" 

Amora sighed, and then she sat up. "We're not sure exactly. Benten-bachan crash-landed on Triton. That's all we know right now."

Lum blinked. "What about Nassur? Was there . . . ?"

"No sign of him," Amora cut her mother off with a shake of her head. "Oyuki-bachan sent Benten-bachan to Earth for Ozuno-sensei to find out what happened." A snort. "Personally, I think Budou-sensei would be a better choice."

Lum sighed. "Right." Ever since she was a small child, Amora had never really respected Sakura despite the fact that she counted Ozuno Seiteki these days as her best friend. "What's caused the ill-feelings between you and Shinobu? She is your Mamon'cha, remember!" she then reminded her child, automatically using the Sagussan word for "father's bond-mate" when referring to the nurse.

"She sure doesn't act like one!" Amora growled back before she moved to calm herself. "Anyhow, Benten-bachan woke up on our way back and she discovered that Junba was her child before she began to rip the ship apart. _Mamon'cha_," -- her voice turned caustic -- "Deserved all she got for what she did to Aiotoga. Unfortunately, someone innocent got it worse!"

"Who!"

"Ten-chan. Junba broke their engagement once she found out that he knew everything about her parents and wouldn't tell."

Lum took that in, and then she looked down. "Poor Ten-chan. First, Minami . . . now this! He must be heartbroken."

Amora sighed. "He is! How could you and Dad let this happen, Mom? You all knew about Junba's parents! Why didn't you tell her!"

"Shinobu wanted to do it." Lum then frowned. "We kept quiet in accordance to her wishes."

"Parents!" Amora spat out as her eyes rolled. "At least, you told ME the truth about MY origins." With that, she stood, turning upstairs for bed. "If it was up to Miyake, I'd probably never wouldn't have learned about your miscarriage! Good night, Mom."

Lum remained silent as Amora headed upstairs. After hearing her bedroom door slam shut, she then let her tears flow.

"It wasn't a miscarriage, Amora-chan."

* * *

Next door, Shinobu was heating some food for Benten. The hunter was asleep on the living room couch. Junba had finally turned in for the night. Once the meal was ready, Shinobu poured it into a bowl, set it on a tray, and then she headed into the living room. Carefully, she jostled Benten awake. "Benten?" the nurse/princess called out. "Wake up!" 

Benten started. Catching sight of Shinobu, she then recoiled from her hand. Glaring at her host, her lips instantly curled into a silent snarl. "Benten, relax," Shinobu soothed with a sigh. "It's me, Miyake Shinobu. You must recognize me!"

The Fukunokami's eyes remained fixed on Shinobu. The nurse remained still, knowing that, in cases like this, any sudden movement could provoke a violent response. Comfortable with the fact that her psionic powers and strength could more than match a deranged Benten, she saw no reason to provoke a fight. "You're probably hungry." Shinobu presented the bowl. "I warmed up some leftover beefbowl for you."

Looking at the offered food, Benten snatched it from Shinobu's hands. After a precautionary sniff, she then proceeded to gobble it down. "I need to get her trust," Shinobu mused aloud as she sat in a chair across from the hunter. "Benten?" she then probed, deciding it was time for answers. "What happened to you? Where have you been? Where's Nassur-kun? Why haven't you aged all this time?"

The now-empty bowl flew at Shinobu in answer. The nurse calmly dodged it. "More!" Benten snapped.

"At least she can talk," Shinobu wryly mused.

Incensed by the flippant response, the Fukunokami grabbed the Terran-turned-Sagussan by her housecoat, glaring into her eyes. "More!" Benten repeated as she glared intently into Shinobu's eyes. "Hungry!"

Shinobu sighed as she firmly pulled Benten's hands off her, her grip causing the hunter to gasp. "Hai, hai, Sahib! My feet are like wings!" She then stood, muttering, "One thing about you I _didn't_ miss is that Lyna-be-damned temper of yours."

As she picked up the bowl from the floor, Shinobu then froze in mid-stride when Benten sobbed, "Aiotoga."

Shinobu looked over. The moonlight flowed into the room, making Benten's tears glisten. "She's asleep. Do you want to see her?"

Those words were enough to shatter the dam holding the other woman's emotions back. "S-she . . . " the hunter gasped. "She didn't know who I was, but . . . b-but I knew her as soon as I saw her! How long has it been since Nassur and I were captured?"

"Seventeen years."

Silence fell as Benten processed that bombshell. "Seventeen years! I missed so much . . . and it's all her fault . . . !"

With that, her strength faded as sorrow once more overcame her. Shinobu set the bowl on an end table, and then she sat beside Benten, instinctively pulling her into a warm embrace. "Who's fault?" the nurse gently inquired. "Benten, who are you talking about?"

"It was Queen Elle!" Benten icily replied. "She took us away from our child and friends . . . !"

More sobs. Shinobu remained still, allowing Benten the chance to regain some sense of decorum. Finally, the latter gazed on her host. "You've changed," the hunter whispered. "You're not hyper like you used to be. It's like you're a different person!"

"In more ways than one," Shinobu ruefully admitted. "Seventeen years have passed. In that time, I've physically aged a year and a half. What did you expect?" An eyebrow arched. "That we'd all go into cryogenic suspension to wait for your return?"

"Very funny!" Benten wryly snarled. "It could be worse, I admit. You could be an old lady . . . or dead."

"Care to have more of your body wrecked?" Shinobu dead-panned.

Benten shrugged. Gradually, as the tension faded, the old friendship came back to them. Laughter washed away the last of the apprehension as they warmly embraced. "Oh, it's so good to be back!" Benten said. "Hey, I'm hungry still! Got something to eat!"

"Okay, greedy guts, you win! I'll go get the shovel!"

Shinobu headed back into the kitchen. Benten stuck her tongue out at the nurse's back, and then she relaxed as her mind churned over the primary bit of news Shinobu gave her. _Seventeen years . . . !_

* * *

Finally stuffed to the gills, Benten then found herself the centre of attention of a gathering of the "usual suspects." Lum and Ataru had come immediately over from their home, the latter having sensed what had happened through his marei'cha bond with Shinobu. Also present was an obviously pregnant Seq Ran, a curious Ozuno Sakura and Ryooki Koosei and a calm Megane Aisuru. Junba was also awake, she eager to learn the truth about herself. Surrounded by both old friends and a new daughter, Benten realized she needed to explain her seventeen-year absence. "Elle's troops captured Nassur and me," Benten began. "I put Junba into an escape pod on the 'Renegade' because we both believed we wouldn't escape. We knew someone would find her and take care of her. Nothing until five days ago. We woke up . . . in freezer units." 

"Freezer units?" Ataru said. "You were cryofrozen all this time?"

Benten nodded. "That's right. It was then we made our escape . . . "

_

* * *

Five days previously . . . _

_On Elle, in a darkened laboratory outside Baran, Benten and Nassur woke to find themselves standing in cryofreeze chambers. Both were quick to discover that the chambers weren't open. The uncomfortable warmth was also something they couldn't ignore. To make matters worse, Nassur saw thick grey smoke seeping into the lab. Turning to each other, they tried to shout something. No sound could pass through the walls of their chambers. Nassur then made a motion with his open hand across his face, mouthing "psi-link." Benten nodded understandingly as both relaxed themselves, allowing their minds to forge a psionic line._

Benten, can you hear me?

Yeah! I guess you can hear me.

Loud and clear. You have an idea what happened!

Damned if I know! Last thing I remember's seeing Aiotoga escape. Where are we! Why've we been frozen? Why's it getting so hot?

This clearly wasn't planned_, Nassur replied with a grimace._ These units usually open automatically when the person inside thaws. The unit's still working but the lab's so warm, the computers haven't registered that we're awake.

Great! _Benten moaned._ We suffocate or we sweat to death. You sense anyone around?

Several people nearby. Their brainwave patterns tell me they're frantic about something.

They aren't the only ones, _Benten began to pant._ Can we get out of here?

Good question.

_Benten sighed, and then she began to bang on the glass to see if it would break. No effect; the confines of the chambers prevented her from leaning back and hitting the glass with her usual__ élan. Nassur then flashed a warning:_ Somebody's coming! Stay still!

_They assumed their original positions. Through slightly opened eyes, they watched as several Ellsian lab technicians, supported by members of the Royal Ellsian Defence Force, rush in. Some headed for the other chambers and open them; others gathered and moved portable equipment, tools and notes out of the room as quick as they could. An older technician raced to the chambers containing his guests. "Good," she said with a relieved nod. "They're still frozen! Take them out of those tubes before the fire spreads to this room."_

_The doors were unlocked and opened. The attendants grabbed them roughly, hurling them onto available gurneys and pushed them out of the room. The stench of a chemical fire assaulted the hunters' noses as they were carried out._ Now what? _Benten asked._

Wait for it_, Nassur warned._

_The technicians and the guards transported the "frozen" hunters out of the complex. The parade finally arrived at a loading dock where a small hovertruck marked MOBILE FREEZER UNIT awaited them._ Uh-oh! _Benten tried not to gulp._ We're in trouble.

Now or never!

_Nassur sprang into action. The technicians and guards were startled at the sight of two "frozen" beings leaping nimbly off the gurneys. Their hesitation was enough to give Nassur and Benten the chance to easily subdue them. Off in the near distance, another guard doing sentry duty turned a corner, spot the ruckus, and then she yelled, "They're awake!"_

_"Capture them!" one of the subdued technicians ordered. "Don't let them escape!"_

_Thanks to their long suspension, it took fifteen seconds for the hunters to eliminate all potential resistance. As the last guard dropped unconscious, Nassur and Benten quickly armed themselves. "That was easy!" Benten noted as she picked up a rifle._

_"We've learned one thing," Nassur affirmed as he grabbed a couple of blasters. "We're on Elle."_

_Benten blinked. "Elle! How can you tell!"_

_He showed her a blaster. "The guards are dressed in R.E.D.F. uniforms and these are standard issue weapons!"_

_"What does Elle want with us?" Benten wondered. "We're not on her list of most popular people."_

_"We'll find out soon enough," Nassur mused. "Let's go."_

_"No arguments here."_

_They leave the mobile freezer unit truck behind, knowing that the darkness of the night would help keep them invisible. The hunters made their way to a bush behind the lab to catch their breath. "Made it!" Benten gasped._

_Nassur motioned to the lab. Benten watched as flames consumed the building. A dozen fire trucks, lights flashing and sirens blaring, pulled up and try to quash the blaze. "Lucky!" Benten commented. "We just missed becoming fried squid."_

_Nassur motioned into the bush. "Let's get some distance from this place!"_

_

* * *

After an hour of running, the bush melted into Baran's suburbs. Despite the late hour, Nassur and Benten stayed in the alleyways and back streets. No telling what police patrols were dashing hither and yon, hunting for criminal-looking types. "Now what?" Benten wondered. _

_"Right now? Avoid capture." Nassur then snorted. "What we have to do is get off this planet."_

_"How?" Benten asked as she stretched herself. "My body feels so sluggish . . . "_

_"Hibernation sickness," he noted as he took a moment to examine their surroundings. While he had not frequented this world as much as he had places like Gomiana, Nassur did know Baran's general layout. "It'll pass soon. We've probably been frozen a couple of years."_

_"Why would Elle freeze us?" she asked as she took her own look. "It doesn't make sense." Hearing no reply from her husband, she turned to see Nassur hacking into a street-side computer information terminal. "What are you doing?"_

_"Trying to find some answers," he grunted as he played with the keyboard. After a moment, he smiled. "There! I've broken into planet Elle's main database. Let's see . . . "_

_

* * *

In the core of Baran's main city computer complex, a security monitor technician blinked as something appeared on her screen. "Commander," she called out. "I'm detecting an unauthorized entry in terminal THX-1138. Should I send a squad to investigate?" _

_The obese watch supervisor limbered up to glance over her subordinate's shoulder. "Strange. It's only a street information post. Perhaps some kids playing around. Keep an eye on them. They might get into something sensitive."_

_"Yes, ma'am."_

_

* * *

Nassur gritted his teeth. "This computer's more advanced than I thought. We've been out a long time." _

_Benten remained on watch as her husband worked away. "Get anything?"_

_"Nothing . . . wait!" Nassur then yelped. "I've just located_ Renegade

_"Good! Let's get out of here!"_

_"Agreed."_

_

* * *

The supervisor's private audiophone rang. "Yes?" she answered. She then tensed as the other end made its report. "I see. We'll send squads out immediately!" Hanging up, she then opened a video phone line to the city's internal security primary dispatch station. "Attention all units! Be on the lookout for Nassur of Vos and Benten Shigaten of Fukunokami! They're both armed and dangerous! If possible, they're to be taken alive! Chief Operative Seven Bake Rose, report to duty immediately!" _

_Around her, the technicians all shuddered on hearing the mercenary's name. The one monitoring THX-1138 then looked up on noting some new action from the terminal in question. "Ma'am! The hackers stopped after gaining information about the captured starship_ Renegade

_"What!" the supervisor gasped, then, on realizing the significance of that report, she flipped open the link to internal security._

_"All units: converge on City Spacedock 245!"_

_

* * *

City Spacedock 245 once belonged to the Royal Ellsian Defence Force. Currently, it was largely empty. Save for storage boxes and a familiar Fukunokami-built frigate, all covered with dust and cobwebs. "There she is!" Nassur declared with a cautious smile as the hunters slipped inside through a side door. "She still looks in fine shape." A pause. "I hope." _

_"I hope so, too," Benten muttered as she scoured the area. "This is too easy! Somebody must know we've escaped!"_

_Almost in answer, Nassur's eyes glowed, and then he grabbed his wife to force her to the deck. "Down!"_

_Several lasers bisected the air above their heads. "I knew it!" Benten moved to take cover. "I see seven!"_

_"Mark! Let's fight!"_

_A sporadic firefight began._ I just thought of something! _Benten psi-linked._ Where do we go when we get off this rock?

Not sure_, Nassur replied as he fired his weapon._ Right now, any port in a storm will do.

Thanks for the encouragement! _Benten forced a security officer to dive for cover with a spray of rifle fire._ Here's another thought: what if everyone we know is dead or too old to be any use to us!

We're in trouble.

_Suddenly, all fire ceased. Nassur and Benten peek out from cover, both quickly noting that more security troops were streaming into the spacedock._ I think we can make a break for it_, the Vosian mused as he bit his lip._ C'mon!

_Both bolted for the_ Renegade_'s boarding ramp, they dodging sporadic fire as the other side quickly noticed what was happening._ I'll stand guard_, Nassur psi-linked as he took cover by several boxes, still some distance from the boarding hatch._ Get her going!

Right!

_Benten dashed aboard. The Fukunokami ignored the dust and cobwebs as she ran to the bridge. The disturbed air threw up a fine cloud, causing her to sneeze. "So much for house cleaning!" she grumbled as she sat at the helm to commence emergency start-up._

_Below, Nassur kept watch. His eyes flashed, and then he ducked as a metal fist flew overhead. "Ah, Seven Bake Rose!" Nassur then smiled on seeing an older yet familiar -- and currently cybernetic-enhanced -- mercenary facing him. "You haven't aged well!"_

_"I've waited years for this!" Rose de Hausenbach growled, sensor-eye glowing. "I'm better than I was the last time we fought!"_

_"Bad imitation of Ataru's Cyborg form!" Nassur noted as he calmly began to evade her punches._ Benten, Seven Bake Rose's here! Can you get _Renegade_ ready! _he psi-flashed his wife._

_Benten was busy trying to cold-start the warp core._ Trying! Keep her busy!

_It was easy; Nassur was more than able to hold his own against Rose. "You're an idiot getting cybernetic parts, Rosie!" he taunted her. "Even now, you can't take me on one-on-one! I speak from experience!"_

_Meanwhile, on the frigate's bridge, Benten angrily slammed her hands on the console. "Damn it, why won't you start!"_

Renegade_'s engines turned over. "Finally!" she cried._

_Nassur blinked as he heard the start-up. Rose moved to take advantage. "Don't get your hopes up!"_

_He sidestepped the cyborg as she waded into some nearby crates with the grace of a crashing missile. "Sorry, Rosie!" Nassur said in farewell as he dashed to the boarding ramp. "We'll finish this some other time!"_

_"Coward!" Rose screamed. "Come back here and fight like a man!"_

Benten! _he psi-linked._ Coming aboard!

Hurry up! More soldiers!

_Unseen by either of them, a sniper had taken position behind a crate. Calmly, she bore-sighted her weapon on the Vosian some metres away. Her bolt lanced into Nassur's left shoulder!_ B-Benten! _he gasped as he sank to the spacedock deck._ I'm hit!

I'll stop and get you!

N-no . . . _Nassur said pleadingly as he faded out._ Get help . . . Varanko, Dakejinzou, the hybrids, Lum . . . do it . . . !

_As more soldiers raced into the dock, he smiled as "Renegade" blasted off before unconsciousness overcame him . . ._

* * *

"I decided to fly _Renegade_ to Earth," Benten completed. "The engines gave out over Triton and I crashed. End of story." 

Everyone remained silent as they absorb the hunter's tale. "As soon as I'm able," Benten added, "I'm going back to rescue Nassur."

"I'll help!" Junba immediately volunteered. "I want to meet my dad."

"Junba, are you out of your mind?" Ataru demanded. "That's very dangerous."

"Moroboshi-sensei." Junba stared at him. "I'm no green kid! Mrs. Moroboshi's been teaching me marital arts for years."

Benten blinked as she absorbed what she just heard, and then she smiled. "I see a lot's changed since we left!"

"We wished you could've come," Lum noted as she squeezed her husband's hand.

"Makes four of us." Benten then gazed at Junba. "What about you, Aiotoga? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Hearing that, the teenager's happy look crashed. "What have I done!" she wailed as she bolted for her bedroom.

"Did I say something?" Benten asked as she heard a bedroom door slam shut. "What happened?"

"Junba's boyfriend was Jariten," Shinobu explained with a shake of her head. "They were going to be married. I never told Junba she was adopted. Neither did Ten. When you came back, they got into a fight and Junba broke off the engagement."

"I see," Benten breathed out. "Poor kid."

The other nodded, many of them sighing in turn. In her bedroom, Junba was weeping into her pillow. "What a jerk! What an idiot! Why did I break it off! What do I do! How will he ever forgive me!"

* * *

Next morning, Amora was quick to pass on the news to her classmates. 

Tomobiki High's rumour mill did the rest . . .

"This is the most horrible day I ever thought I would live through!" Megane Shinpai exclaimed.

"I've never seen Junba-chan so upset!" Chibi Rikoshugi noted. "What do we do?"

"If word spreads," Kakugari Kokishin warned, "Every guy in the school will be after Junba-chan! What will we do!"

The bodyguards crossed their arms and thought about it. "I got it!" Paama Omoshiroi spoke up. "Why don't we get first in line!"

They exchanged looks, and then the quartet diabolically laughed. "And they say **I'M** wanton and fickle?" Amora sneered at them before she barked out, "You guys are sick! Working on a poor girl's sadness for your own gain! Disgusting!"

Junba then arrived, her shoulders sagged in sorrow. Fujinami Dansei trailed her best friend, concern etched on the tomboy's face. On seeing their class representative, many of the boys moved to "prepare" themselves. _Poor girl_, Amora mused as she gazed sympathetically on her neighbour. _She's in for it now! How could Shinobu-bachan DO such a thing to her!_

Junba sat down. "S-she's here!" Shinpai stuttered as nervousness washed through him. "Who should go first!"

"Should it be by lot?" Rikoshugi wondered.

Kokishin shook his head. "Nah! Too easy to cheat! Jurgen!"

"Too long!" Omoshiroi hissed.

"There's only one course to take!" Shinpai's glasses then glowed. "**_A MASS ATTACK!_**"

With that, they leapt at Junba . . .

And ran into a pair of tiger-stripped walls!

Of course, the "walls" were the transformed Rin and Ren. "There's the devil twins, right on schedule!" Amora muttered.

They reverted to normal as they sympathetically gazed at their class rep. "Hiya, Junba!" Rin began. "We heard about your break-up."

"And we'd be honoured if you'd go out with one of us!" Ren added.

"And it'd better be me!" Rin finished.

Sure enough, Ren spun on his brother, he snaring Rin's jacket. "How can you be so airheaded! She wants to be with me!"

"Stick your head in a cannon! She wants me!"

"ME!"

Junba rolled her eyes as the expected fight began. _I don't want EITHER of them!_

Suddenly, a pair of rockets blasted Rin and Ren out of the class! When the smoke cleared, Mendou Tetsubou stormed in, rocket launcher at the ready. "Enough! You monsters will not fight near Junba-san as long as I'm here!"

"Tetsubou!" Junba gasped, surprised by his actions. "What are you doing with that!"

"I was merely paying homage to _Assemble Insert_," Tetsubou reported.

Mass face-fault! In the blink of the eye, Tetsubou is at Junba's side, his hand gently grasping her. Expectantly, the lights around them grew fuzzy as romantic music played in the background. Their classmates watched this strange tableau play out. Save Amora, she clearly nauseous by his show of exuberance. "Junba-san," Tetsubou intoned. "I know how you feel. It was the same for me when my parents divorced."

Junba looked ready to cry. "I feel so dead inside, Tetsubou."

"I'm here if you want me. Go ahead and cry. You'll feel better."

"I see Tetsubou didn't waste time," Seiteki commented from nearby.

Amora scowled. "You'd think this was a soap opera, not a science fiction comedy-adventure!"

Tears flowing, Junba accepted Tetsubou's embrace. "Tetsubou . . . "

He patted her back. "Aiotoga . . . "

"So THIS is what you do when my back's turned!"

Everyone spun around to stare at the window, where a VERY incensed Jariten currently stood. "Jariten!" Junba gasped as she pulled herself away from Tetsubou. "It's not what you think . . . !"

"Oh!" the ensign icily growled. "What DO you think I'm thinking!"

Amora was quick to notice the bouquet of flowers. _It's hit the fan, folks . . ._

Incensed by Jariten's unspoken accusation, Junba marched up to glare at him. "Tetsubou's only showing some kindness," she growled.

"Is that what YOU call it!" He snorted. "I came ready to apologize. Seems to me it didn't take YOU long to find a replacement!"

"Oh, yeah!" she retorted, her face flushing with rage. "Well, listen up! Mendou Tetsubou's a lot better than you! At least HE knows how to treat a woman and HE doesn't hold the truth from them!"

Hearing that, Jariten seemed stricken. "I see," he then said. "So that's what you think, eh! You want him!" he demanded as he then threw the bouquet into the air, incinerating it then with his flame-breath. "You can have him!"

The ashes cascaded to the floor between them. Junba slapped him. "It's over! I hope you die in space! HORRIBLY!"

"If I had to come back to a girl like you!" he retorted with bared fangs, "I'd rather I DID die in space!"

With that, he was off, flying back to the shipyards. His abrupt departure instantly made Junba realize that she just let a golden opportunity slip through her fingers. "Oh, no!" she then moaned, hand falling over her heart. "What have I done!"

Tetsubou then seized her from behind. "Aiotoga!"

* * *

Moments later, Ataru stepped in. "'Morning, class!" 

The teacher jolted on seeing wrecked desks piled over someone and Amora trying to calm a violently shaking Junba down. "Calm down, Aiotoga! There's still time to get back together if you try!"

Ataru stared at Seiteki. "What happened?"

"Ten and Junba just had a fight and Tetsubou interfered," she responded before a coy stare crossed her face. "I didn't know Junba was into kinky stuff. It gives me an idea . . . "

His eyes rolled. "Grow up, Seiteki, and stow it!"

The principal's daughter jolted. The teacher called the class to order, pointedly ignoring her. "Why's he playing hard-to-get!"

* * *

Later, at the Miyake home, Benten stared in disbelief at an ornate suit of body armour hanging on the wall of Shinobu's bedroom. Magenta with silver piping, it was clearly Yehisrite in design, complete with ceremonial cape and sheathed broadsword. After taking a moment to absorb that fearsome image, the hunter then hesitantly turned to Shinobu, she busy drawing out some photo albums. "You're a laqu'r!" 

"That's right," the nurse replied with a smile. "Shortly after you and Nassur were captured, Sheko tried to avenge the Mikado's death on Ataru. He nearly killed Ataru; my sister Joshu saved him via tre'cha. I killed Sheko. End of story."

Benten moved to sit beside her. "Then why aren't you living in Kyotos?"

"I lived there for five years, helping out with political reforms and cleansing out Sheko's cronies," Shinobu explained as she opened an album. "But eventually, I felt Kyotos City was no place to raise Aiotoga. I moved back here and left Varanko's grandson Chanko in charge as Principal Lord Protector. It's the first time ever that Kyotos has tried this form of government. No one's had reason to complain: the lords' positions are secure and the citizens are prosperous, light-years different from Sheko's time. Anyhow, take a look . . . "

Benten eagerly began looking through the many images of Junba growing up, first on Yehisril, then on Earth. As the various albums were paraded before her, a mixture of delight and sadness crossed the hunter's face on seeing how Junba had matured. "These pictures" -- she indicated one of Junba and Dansei on a school trip to Kyoto -- "Make me realize how much I've missed."

"I've tried to keep her out of trouble," Shinobu moved to assure her guest. "Lum's been teaching her kari'fu, taking what lessons Nassur once gave her and passing it on to Aiotoga. Most everyone likes her; Lyna, there's even a 'Junba's Bodyguards.'"

Benten's eyes rolled. "Bensaiten's Grave! Not that again! I assume Megane's relatives have something to do with that!"

"Aisuru's nephew Shinpai leads it. Shitto's, Daremo's and Urayamu's sons back him up." Shinobu chuckled. "Their luck's usual."

Both laughed. "How did Aiotoga wind up with Ten?" Benten then wondered.

"Ten's always had an interest in Aiotoga," Shinobu explained. "I think it stemmed from the times Aiotoga took over your body when you were carrying her. They grew up almost side-by-side. She helped him out of a . . . very difficult time while in high school."

Benten tensed. "Minami, you mean? I remember she was pretty interested in him when they were staying with me in Oshika . . . "

"Minami isn't with us anymore," Shinobu then reported with a saddened sigh. "Anyhow, Junba recognized Jariten sometime after. Unfortunately, she became quite the pain when he left to attend the Urusian Naval Academy. She only saw him during vacations. Always moping around. Once, she even tried to run away to Uru to live with him."

Benten laughed. "She obviously got that from me."

"Oh, there're a few things I regret her inheriting from you," Shinobu wryly mused. "Still, there's a bright side to this. Ten's on exchange with the United Nations Defence Force. He was just assigned to the _Lum-san_."

"_Lum-san_?"

"Our first home-built starship," Shinobu reported. "Ten years ago, Earth officially became part of the Galactic Federation. Thanks to technological transfers, mostly from Uru, Vos, Zephyrus, Ipraedos, Kyotos and most of the other Yehisrite principalities, we're now able to build our own fleet. Daremo and Kenmei designed her. Shuutarou's going to command her. I hear the name was chosen out of a hat."

Benten grinned. "I never thought Lum would have a starship named after her. How're Ataru and Reiko?"

"Reiko's living with Dakejinzou with her lifemate and their child. As for Ataru . . . well, he's okay, but there have been problems."

Benten noted the downcast look. "Something wrong?"

"I'd rather not comment," Shinobu exhaled. "The last seventeen years have not been kind to some. Ataru and Lum are two of them. If you want to know more, you should speak to them. Since I am Ataru's bond-mate, I would be violating his privacy by saying more. We've lived side-by-side for the last decade here in Tomobiki, but many Sagussan social guidelines still dominate our lives."

The Fukunokami tensed as that warning washed through her, and then she nodded. "I . . . okay."

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted when the front door flew open, slamming against the wall as Junba stormed in. Benten and Shinobu walked out of the latter's bedroom to greet their child. "Aiotoga!" Benten chirped, beaming. "How was your day at . . . ?"

Junba slammed her bedroom door shut behind her!

"School?" Benten completed before she stared at Shinobu. "I guess today wasn't very good."

Shinobu smiled as she headed into the kitchen. "Your temper, I'm afraid."

"What about YOUR temper?" Benten taunted.

Shinobu stopped, turning to face her. "Benten, let me make something VERY clear: Just because I may only look a year older, I am not the person I was seventeen years ago. I don't particularly care to regress to that time, even for your amusement. You don't realize what it's been like, being a Sagussan and raising a part-Vosian child. I've learned to maintain a tight control over myself. Think about it. If I dropped my psi-shields, Aiotoga would die of a stroke because her tracking powers would overload once she sensed my brainwave pattern."

Benten fearfully nodded. "I . . . I see."

"Then you see why I've disciplined myself." Shinobu then sighed. "Just to warn you, Ataru and Lum are the same way. I'm sorry about you missing out on so much. But, like it or not, we can't change the past. This is the way I am now. The sooner you accept it, the better for all of us, especially Aiotoga. Now, why don't you look in on her while I get started on supper?"

"Um . . . y-yeah, sure!" Benten sputtered with a nod before she headed off.

* * *

In her bedroom, Junba wept into her pillow. "It's over!" she sobbed. "It's my fault! I'm so stupid . . . I . . . !" 

"Bad day?"

The teary-eyed teenager turned to gaze on her smiling mother. "I had a fight, Mom. With Ten-chan."

"I see," Benten calmly replied as she wiped her daughter's face. "You know, your father and I fought once. Real bad one, too."

"You did? When?"

"Shortly after we first met," Benten explained. "He was training Lum. I was assisting him. Unfortunately, Nassur's first wife Cinba died during that time. He wasn't in a good mood. I was only a few years younger than you are right now and I had major-league crush on him. He became incensed about that one day. Our tempers flared; there was a lot of screaming and yelling and I slapped him."

Surprised by that revelation after hearing so much about Nassur from Amora and Lum, Junba leaned up. "Then what happened?"

"He slapped me back," Benten answered. "Twice, right in the face." She pointed to her cheeks in emphasis. "For the first time in my life, I actually hated him. So I ran away. Then I realized Nassur was in pain over Cinba's death. He wasn't really mad at me per se. So I decided to help him get over that sadness. It took me seven years but I finally managed to do it."

With that, she displayed her cygnet's eye wedding ring. Junba blinked confusedly. "So what does that mean for me?"

Benten shrugged. "Everyone has fights, especially when they're developing a relationship. You gotta set boundaries and some rules for it to work out. Until that happens, there're gonna be misunderstandings, misconceptions. There's no such thing as the 'perfect' relationship, Aiotoga. As you grow up, so grows the partnership. And," A pause, and then she pointed at her daughter. "You always gotta remember this: Nothing's ever truly over until you both agree it is."

Junba looked down. "I see. But . . . after what's happened, how can Ten-chan and I get back together?"

Silence fell as Benten considered how to answer that. "I don't know," she finally announced. "But somehow, I'm sure you'll find a way. One of you'll have to make the first move. Then, things'll progress from there."

"Maybe."

* * *

Sometime later, Benten walked around the block to visit the Moroboshi home. The front door opened before the hunter could knock, revealing a smiling Amora. "Hi, Benten-bachan! Come on in! My parents're still working!" 

"Thanks," Benten replied as she followed the teenage empath inside. "Are you sure you're not half-Vosian? I know about your great-grandma, but . . . heck, only Nassur and the hybrids answer doors before I knock on them!"

A chuckle. "I'm empathic," Amora reported as they stepped into the living room. "In a way, my powers're just as good as Aiotoga's. How's she taking what happened between her and Ten-chan?"

"Give her time, she'll make it," Benten asserted as they sat at the table. "Look, I should apologize for my behaviour earlier. Believe me, I wasn't in my right mind then. You and Elle look so much alike, in my confused state, I couldn't tell the difference."

"That's okay," Amora said. "Many people make the same mistake. Then again," she mused as she rolled her eyes knowingly, "I could've looked like either Nokoko-bachan or Atako-bachan. I doubt I'd be as popular with boys if that ever happened to me. Excuse me, please." She then stood to head into the kitchen. "I'm making an omelette."

"Go ahead."

"I've met Hazel," Amora then called out as she flipped her omelette.

"How are they? I haven't been able to contact Home Base."

"They're fine. They've been doing pretty well with Home Base and the school. You ought to see how Hazel's grown out."

"Really?" Benten mused as Amora returned, plate and glass in hand.

Silence then fell as Amora attacked her dinner. Benten gazed at her. The former then looked up.

"You don't trust me."

Benten jolted on hearing that, and then a sheepish look crossed her face. "Well . . . "

Amora waved it off. "I understand. Being Elle's daughter is hard. Everyone loathes her. Being an empath, I can sense that. Elle must've done something horrible to you and your husband. Did you find out why?"

"No," Benten then snarled. "But when I go to rescue Nassur, we'll find out . . . even if we have to kill her to do it."

Amora smiled. "No one will blame you at all."

Silence again fell as Benten took time to examine the living room. Pictures of Ataru's and Lum's family dot one of the walls. Prominent in almost all of them were Reiko and Amora. Standing, Benten walked over to examine Reiko's graduation photograph from the Ishinomaki Young Women's Academy, and then she gazed on a handfasting portrait of Reiko with her life-mate, Fujisawa Mina.

It didn't take the hunter long to realize something vital was missing. "Amora, where's your sister?" she wondered.

"Who, Reiko? Kaneko?"

Benten blinked on hearing the name of Reiko's twin sister. _Ask about that later_, she mused before speaking, "No, Koishii."

Amora blinked. "I have no sister named Koishii."

Benten froze as a chill ran down her spine. Shinobu's words then came back to her: _The last seventeen years have not been kind to some. Ataru and Lum are two of them._ "I see," she finally exhaled.

Amora's eyes then glowed. "Ah! Here comes Mom!"

The door opened. "I'm home!" Lum called out as she stepped into the living room. Her smile then widened on her seeing who was there with her daughter. "Hi, Benten!" she hailed as she put her briefcase down. "What brings you here!"

Benten smiled. "I just need to talk."

"I'll leave then," Amora said as she finished her omelette and drink before moving to clean up. "Homework, you know."

Once they were alone, Lum stared at Benten. "What's up?"

"How close're Amora and Junba?" Benten wondered.

"They're friends, but Junba's much closer to Fujinami Dansei."

Benten blinked. "Fujinami . . . Dansei? Ryuunosuke had a kid!"

"Yes!" Lum's eyes then rolled. "Unfortunately, she's a girl raised as a boy."

"Don't remind me!" Benten groaned as she remembered the first time she met Tomobiki's resident tomboy. She then stared at the kitchen. "Amora-chan seems to carry a lot of anger inside her. She sensed I didn't trust her, then got really stand-offish."

"Amora-chan resents most of Darling's former classmates and friends from Tomobiki," Lum warned. "What Shinobu did with Junba destroyed a lot of respect Amora-chan had for her. Amora-chan says she feels some lingering resentment towards Darling in everyone else. Outside that, Amora-chan's a wonderful girl . . . even though she IS a boy chaser!"

Hearing that, Benten laughed. "So she DID inherit something from her father."

"Tcha!" Lum groaned. "She joined the Intergalactic Boy-Chasers' Club and she's trying to get Sakura's daughter Seiteki to join."

"They're still around? I thought they'd be gone by now."

"No, Senba's leading them now." Lum then started to fret. "I don't mind her joining, but they made her sterilize herself!" Hands reached up to grip her temples as she stared heavenward. "How'll I have grandchildren . . . ?"

"**_FOR THE LAST TIME! IT'S REVERSIBLE, MOM!_**" Amora bellowed from the kitchen. "**_HAVE YOU NO EARS!_**"

Lum and Benten were blown over by the wall of noise. "See what I mean?" Lum breathed out.

"Gotcha!" Benten agreed.

* * *

Days later . . . 

Across the Kantou plain, crowds gathered around public videoscreens in parks and at busy city streets to witness the _Lum-san_'s launching and christening at the Tokyo Starship Construction Yards in Kawasaki. A large review stand had been erected in front of the cruiser's bow as the Shinto priest completed his blessings. Along with Lum and her family, the gallery was packed with dignitaries from the United Nations, Uru, Triton, Noukiios, the U.N.D.F., the Japanese government, local administration and the construction firm.

Lum beamed. "Darling, isn't this exciting?"

Ataru nodded. "Yeah . . . what I can see of it, that is."

"Dad," Amora groaned. "Maybe you'd see better if you take that stupid paper bag off your head."

"It's not a bag, Amora," Ataru corrected her. "It's a symbol of my defiance towards the idiots that fill the toghmoghbiki . . . " -- here, he used the Sagussan homonym of their hometown's name, which translated "place of fools and madmen" -- "Of my youth!"

Amora shook her head. "Yeah. And fifteen rhymes with apple and twenty-four rhymes with bees and both equal thirty-nine."

The paper bag joke started when Ataru and Lum married, a month after the final Tag Race. After Nassur's and Benten's disappearance, Lum had became melancholic. To bring cheer, Ataru proposed having their wedding right away (they were originally going to wait until after Koishii was born). Lum happily agreed. It would have gone smoothly had not news of that decision reached their former classmates, who immediately moved to ensure they DID marry. To retaliate at their interference, Ataru and Lum used Sagussan technology to sabotage the wedding pictures and video recordings. Save for pictures and videos meant for immediate family, all photos of Ataru's and Lum's wedding (including a doctored set displayed in the Moroboshi home's living room) depict the happy couple wearing paper bags over their heads!

By then, Kakugari Daremo and his wife, Kenmei, had arrived. "Lum, Ataru, Amora!" the former hailed. "Nice to see you here!"

They exchanged bows, handshakes and hugs. "We were obliged to come," Ataru replied. "The ship IS named after Lum isn't it?"

"That's right," Kakugari confirmed with a nod. "It's taken Kenmei and me over ten years reach this point."

"Yeah," Kenmei added with a knowing chuckle. "I was three sizes smaller when we started. Daremo was a lot smaller as well. I wonder how wide we'll both get before the remaining twelve ships of the class are built."

"Here." Ataru then handed a bottle of Sagussan brandy to his former classmate. "Use this instead of that cheap American champagne. It's a reminder of the one who made this ship's existence possible."

Kakugari smiled understandingly as he took the bottle in hand with a bow. "Thanks, Ataru. I only hope that this stuff doesn't burn the paint of the hull. That stuff's powerful."

Everyone laughed. "Darling?" Lum then asked, "Is that from your old still?"

"Yeah, my last bottle of the stuff. It's a fitting use for this."

"Maybe you should have kept it a little longer," Lum mused.

* * *

In Tomobiki, Benten and Shinobu were watching events on a public television screen. "Benten," the latter warned. "Junba won't come." 

"She'll be here, Shinobu," the former affirmed with a nod. "She's watching."

* * *

On the cruiser's bridge, sailors from two planets rushed around as they tended to last-minute tasks. Many of the watch officers and senior petty offices, Jariten amongst them, stood ready at their posts. Mendou Shuutarou, accompanied by his executive officer, Mizunokoji Tobimaro, then step the bridge. "Captain on the bridge," Jariten announced. 

The bridge crew froze. "As you were," Mendou bade them to carry on with a nod, and then he flipped a switch on one of the arms of his command chair to activate the ship-wide intercom. "All hands prepare for launch!"

"Engage main systems, anti-grav lifters and manoeuvring thrusters," Tobimaro then ordered. "All personnel to launch stations!"

Mendou took his seat. He was quick to notices the forlorn look on Jariten's face. "Well, Ensign, we'll be leaving soon," he then spoke up. "I take it your personal affairs have been tended to."

Jariten sharply nodded. "Yes, sir."

The captain nodded sympathetically as he stood up, walking over to stand by Jariten's side. "My son told me everything, Ten," he lowered his voice. "There'll be a small reception in the wardroom. You can watch Earth from there if you want."

Jariten nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'll consider it."

* * *

The Shinto ceremony drew to a close as the proceedings continued. The bottle of Sagussan ran'jugh was tied to a ribbon and lowered into position by a nearby crane. At the appointed time, Lum took her place. "By the Great Bird of the Galaxy . . . and in the never-to-be-forgotten name of the one we only know in memory, I name thee _Lum-san_! May the Great Bird watch over you and all who sail within you!" 

She grasped the bottle and let it go. It shattered against the bow of the ship, right below the ship's name and registry number, NCE-001. The crowds cheered as confetti flew, streamers flapping into the wind as the _Lum-san_ slid into Tokyo Bay.

* * *

"Ceremony's over!" the coxswain -- the _Lum-san_'s senior non-commissioned officer -- announced. 

"Helm amidships! Five seconds to full immersion!" the helmsman reported.

"Retrothrusters on-line and ready for launch," the yeoman of signals added. "Tugs standing by."

"Yard master signals clear for launch," the coxswain then reported.

"All external hatches closed," the chief hull technician announced.

Jariten looked back from his station. "Captain, we're ready for space flight."

"_Lum-san_," Mendou barked. "Lift off!"

Launching jets thundered as the starship surged forth, rising from its watery birthplace for the heavens beyond.

* * *

"Good luck, Shuutarou! Good luck, Ten!" Shinobu called out with a smile as the crowd in Tomobiki cheered the cruiser on. "What a beautiful day! Eh, Benten?" She then turned . . . to see her companion gone. "Benten! Where did she go?"

* * *

In the former town park -- these days, called Tomobiki Heroes Park -- Junba stood near her parents' statues as she sadly watched the _Lum-san_ rocket away from the entrance of Tokyo Bay. She then jolted, her eyes flashing. "So what're you gonna do now, Aiotoga?" 

"Mom!" Junba turned to see Benten sitting on her statue's pedestal. "How did you find me?"

"I'm not a hunter for nothing," the older woman asserted as she dropped to the ground to approach her. "Junba, what're you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're recognized to Jariten, aren't you?"

Junba sniffed. "Not any more. Not after what's happened this week."

"No, Aiotoga." Benten placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're wrong and both of you know it. You had the last few days to cool down. Believe it or not, you still have one last chance to repair this break before he's gone for who-knows-how-long."

Hearing that, Junba shuddered before she sank into her mother's embrace. "Oh, Mom! How can you love and hate someone at the same time!" She pulled herself away from Benten to gaze into the other woman's eyes. "How can I tell him I'm sorry?"

Benten pointed. "Look up into the sky, Aiotoga."

Junba looked up to see the _Lum-san_ fade into the heavens. "Now . . . raise your hand, wave and say goodbye," Benten gently urged.

Junba does that, her tears glistening. "Goodbye, Ten-chan!" she yelled. "Goodbye, my love! Good luck and come back to me!"

* * *

In the cruiser's wardroom, Jariten watched Earth recede aft. _Goodbye, Aiotoga. Goodbye, my love! I'll come back! I swear it!_

* * *

Next day . . . 

It was a Sunday. In the Miyake home after church, Shinobu removed some of Benten's bandages. Sitting nearby were Lum and Junba. "Your ribs and arm are nearly healed." Shinobu then swept a scanner over her. "Expected with the Vosian traits in your DNA."

"How's that possible?" Junba wondered.

"While carrying a Vosian child, many of the antibodies possessed by the baby transferred into the mother's system through the umbilical cord," Benten explained. "I heal a lot faster now. Also, I have a Vosian lifespan."

"I'm gonna live 500 years!" Junba exclaimed as she remembered a xenobiology lesson on various races' lifespans.

"That's right," Benten said. "You've got at least another year before your first Age Day, Junba."

Junba stared at herself. "So that explains why I'm so slow developing."

Benten smiled before she gazed at her friends. "What's happened to the rest of the gang since Nassur and I disappeared?"

"Nokoko and the others are still in Oshika, running the Tiger Cub and expanding their school," Lum began. "Same with Ria, Atako and the others in Sado. Reiko handfasted with an old primary school classmate of hers, Fujisawa Mina, and then they moved to Fukunotaiin to work with Dakejinzou. We also learned some years ago that Reiko's had a twin sister all this time; her Earth name's Moroboshi Kaneko."

"Yeah, Amora mentioned her name," Benten said, nodding. "Where'd she come from?"

"She was kept behind on Noukiios by one of the scientists who helped out with the Lost Star project after we helped move Reiko to Earth and the other Lost Stars to Magairu," Lum explained. "Kaneko also helped out with the Naihu Emancipation and the Ip'ihu Repatriation sometime after the whole thing with Skelad Lara went down."

"'Ip'ihu Repatriation!'" Benten gasped on hearing the name of Noukiios' infamous "out-caste" of frontier warriors. "Shit! With the way the Ip'ihu tore into the Urusian frontier colonies over the years, I'm surprised a war didn't start over that!"

"It almost did," Shinobu noted.

"Oh, we got over all of that finally," Lum added with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Anyhow, Kaneko's currently living on one of the new Noukiite colony planets with her life-mate . . . " A wink. "Shinobu's niece, Annabelle."

"Belle!" Benten exclaimed. "I thought she and Reiko'd get together in the end! They were as close as sisters!"

"Oh, it didn't work out between them because of Mina, but things went better between Kaneko and Belle."

"Okay. What about the Sagussans?"

A touch of disquiet appeared on the Oni's face. "The Daishi'cha are pressing on with the Grand Design. Noa's still a minister. Mie's a flightmistress with DEFRON One. Makoto commands a destroyer, the _Shiowataru'cha_. They have a pair of daughters, Kum and Unmyon. Kum-chan's just done her watchmistress exam and Unmyon-chan's working as a nursing assistant at the Defence Fleet Medical Unit on Sen'sha Seven, last I heard. The _Hasei'cha_ was lost ten years ago in a fight with Lannarkites. Fortunately, no one was killed. Lufy got the Order of Lyna for things she did in the wake of that concerning the veterans of Vos' Special Hunters Corps. Everyone else was either reassigned to other units or they mustered out of the Navy. Catty's working with the Emergency Medical Response Unit now. Nene and Linna're running Pathfinder Troop Six these days. Rei's a civilian doctor these days and Aunt Asuka teaches at one of the defence education institutes in Tere'na City. Sylia and Yedris work in External Affairs. Priss now works in Intelligence. Honey and Hunba're still together."

"Do you still see them?" Benten wondered.

"Well, we stopped living there about six months after you and Nassur vanished." Lum shrugged. "It was for the best."

Benten was quick to detect the subtle message. "Anyhow, Grandma and Nyassur still live in Rishiri-tou, starting their own family now that Grandma's other children have moved out and got on with their lives," Lum continued. "Darling's parents moved to Hachiouji after his father retired. Nothing much has changed with my parents except that Dad retired from the U.D.F. to serve in Uru's Congress. The guards married their girlfriends. Ryuunosuke's living with her family at school. Sakura's married; she's now Tomobiki High's principal. Koosei's vice-principal now; he and Oyuki still aren't married. Ran married Rei and has three kids with another on the way. Onsen Mark moved with Ayanba to Sagussa when he retired. Shapiro-san's still running his ice cream shop here in town. Chie is . . . well, Chie. Cherry passed on ten years ago, Aisuru taking his place. And . . . " She shrugged. "That catches up with everyone."

"Mom," Junba cut in. "What's Dad like?"

Benten beamed. "He's an inspiration. Very beautiful, inside and out . . . and he's an excellent fighter," she added, winking.

"He taught me kari'fu, the Vosian hunter's art," Lum added with a smile. "It's the martial art I'm teaching you, Junba. Very few people can beat your father in one-to-one outside Dakejinzou or a Pirpirsiw'r like Lufy, Priss or Seikou Makoto."

"Your father also has a kind but strong heart," Benten continued. "He's a legend on many planets."

"What did he do?" Junba gasped.

"He's a bounty hunter," Benten answered. "Just like Dakejinzou. They actually worked together for a time."

Shinobu then stood up. "I just remembered something!"

The nurse walked over to a nearby closet. "What's that all about?" Benten asked.

Lum shrugged. "Search me."

Shinobu produced a white box bearing the items Junba's parents left with her on the escape pod. "My chains!" Benten exclaimed as she slipped on the silver links. "You kept them!" Tears sprang in her eyes as she handled them. "Thanks! I've felt so naked without them!"

Shinobu smiled. "I was planning on giving them to Aiotoga when I got around to telling her about her past."

Junba then drew out Nassur's knotted belt. "What's this?"

"Your dad's kill-belt," Benten explained. "It's traditional among Vosian warriors to put a knot on that for each successful mission."

"Like the notch on a Yehisrite executioner blade," Junba mused as she gazed at the multitude of knots. "Dad was busy, wasn't he!"

"Here, Aiotoga," -- Benten took the kill-belt in hand -- "You put it on this way." With that, she wrapped the chichi bear belt around Junba's waist, pulled it tight, and then she wrapped the excess around Junba's waist until nothing was hanging loose.

Junba giggled. "Now, I'm a hunter like my dad!"

"Not exactly," Lum warned. "Your training's barely started and because I'm a Sagussan, I can't teach you to use your powers."

Benten shrugged. "Don't look at me. Only a Vosian knows for sure."

Junba hummed. "Right."

"Now that I'm getting better," Benten then announced, "It's time I collected a group to rescue Nassur. I've tried contacting Dakejinzou, Varanko and the hybrids. All of them're busy right now. I'm looking for volunteers."

"Count me in," Junba volunteered.

Shinobu then looked anxious. "Okay," Benten affirmed with a reluctant nod as she took note of the nurse's worried look. "Who else?"

"Megane might come," Shinobu suggested.

"Darling and I'll go," Lum volunteered.

* * *

Somewhere in Tomobiki, Ataru sneezed!

* * *

"Sakura and Ran are out," Shinobu then warned. "Sakura's getting on and Ran's pregnant with her fourth child." 

Benten nodded. "That's okay."

"I can ask some of my friends at school," Junba mused. "Dansei, Tetsubou, Rin, Ren, Shinpai and his friends, Amora . . . "

"Better not bring Amora, Junba," Benten cut in. "Elle's her real mother and if something happened, it could get nasty."

"I agree," Lum affirmed with a nod. "Amora's safer here."

"Okay," Junba said. "No Amora. Any others?"

"How about me?" Shinobu volunteered.

"Sure," Benten agreed with a nod. "Why not?"

"So it's set," Junba happily asserted. "When are we going?"

"How's tomorrow sound?" Benten proposed.

Lum stood. "Fine. I'll tell Darling."

With that, she headed home. Junba moved to the video phone. "I'll start calling my friends."

"Who'll call Megane?" Shinobu asked.

Suddenly, a tall, dark, scary figure with white, glowing eyes appeared in front of Shinobu. "Who asks for Megane!"

Shinobu clobbered him with a couch, the television, a statue and a giant octopus! "YAAH! IT'S A GHOUL!"

"Sorry," Megane groaned as he extracted himself from under the pile of debris. "The door was open, so I came in."

"Next time, knock!" the nurse growled before she stormed off.

Megane sighed, and then he held up his hands in prayer. "It's fate!"

* * *

At the Moroboshi house, Amora was watching television when Lum flew in. "I'm home!" 

"Oh, Mom! What is it?" Amora asked, quick to sense Lum's excitement. "Why're you so happy!"

"Benten's is gathering a team to rescue Nassur."

Amora beamed. "Great! Did she contact Dakejinzou or the others!"

"She couldn't." Lum shook her head. "No matter. Benten has a team of volunteers together. Darling and I'll be going."

Face-fault! "WHAT! ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND!"

"What's with the attitude!" Lum wondered.

"Plenty!" Amora exclaimed. "You can't go running off into space at a whim like you did when you're a kid! You're an adult now!"

"This is important," Lum snapped. "Nassur's my friend! I owe him. He rescued me and Darling from horrible things!"

Amora glared knowingly at Lum. "That's not the point, Mom! Since when did _Dad_ agree to volunteer to go into space!"

Lum fidgeted. "Well . . . "

"You haven't _asked_ yet, have you?"

"Tcha . . . "

"Dad'll have a cow when he hears." Amora threw up her hands in a "why me?" gesture. "I guess I'm going as well."

"No," Lum asserted. "We thought it better that you remain here. The less Elle knows about you, the better."

Amora breathed out. "At least, you've got _some_ brains, Mom! I hope when you tell Dad, he won't scream too loud. It hurts my ears when he yells. I just hope you can live with the consequences."

With that, she headed upstairs. A minute later, Ataru arrived. "I'm home!" he called out. "What's wrong, Lum?"

"Benten's going to try to rescue Nassur," Lum nervously announced.

"It's about time!" Ataru noted as he removed his suit jacket before sitting down. "So, who'd she get to help?"

"She couldn't contact Dakejinzou, Varanko or the hybrids," Lum reported. "She asked for volunteers. I volunteered our help."

Silence.

Ditto.

Ditto.

Then . . .

"**_YOU DID WHAT!_**"

The shout blew the roof twenty metres from the Moroboshi home!

* * *

Later, at the Miyake house, Junba placed the video phone handle down. "There! That's the last of them." 

"How many are coming?" Benten wondered.

"Let's see." Junba counted off on her fingers. "Tetsubou; Shinpai, Rikoshugi, Omoshiroi and Kokishin; Ozuno Seiteki; Rin and Ren; and Dansei-chan, of course. Funny, once their parents heard who they were going to help rescue, they didn't hesitate giving permission."

"That's good." Benten then noticed Junba's fatigue. "Better go to bed, Aiotoga. Falling asleep at a critical moment's a 'no-no.'"

"I know." Junba then yawned. "This's been so exciting."

Unseen by them, Shinobu was eavesdropping from the kitchen. "Mom, why do you call me 'Aiotoga?'" Junba inquired.

"It's a Fukunokami word meaning 'love song,'" Benten explained as they headed to her bedroom. "Believe it or not, it meant the same thing here in Japan. Seeing as you were born here, I felt it was the perfect name to give you."

"I was born on Earth? Not on Vos or Home Base?"

"In Oshika to be exact." Benten then smiled. "When I learned I was pregnant, your father ordered made me to stay on Earth while he went to rescue Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, Mendou Shuutarou and Megane Aisuru when they were captured by the Mikado."

Junba nodded. "I heard of him. He was the dictator of Vos for a century. Is it true that Moroboshi-sensei killed him!"

"Yeah, I watched it happen. Anyway, your father christened you with your Vosian name, 'Junba.' It means 'woman of peace.'"

"I see." Junba then stifled a yawn. "I'd better go to bed. Good night."

"'Night," Benten parted with a nod as Junba headed to bed, and then she turned to walk into the kitchen.

Shinobu was busy finishing with the dishes. "Now I really regret not telling Aiotoga about you two," the nurse noted with a smile. "I just hope she doesn't make rash decisions before comprehending the consequences of her actions."

Benten stiffened. "She has a right to know."

Shinobu chuckled. "I'm not disagreeing. Benten, after all we've experienced, all I'm concerned about right now is our coming through this mess with our skins intact."

"You're saying we shouldn't go."

Shinobu turned around. "No. If we leave Aiotoga behind, she'll find some way to get around it. She's headstrong, but she learns from her mistakes and takes her lessons to heart. It's the experience factor I'm concerned about. We have it, so we're not afraid to leap onto the windmill. If the cause is just, we're strengthened with conviction. Aiotoga and the others don't. Still, we should be fine."

"I hope so." Benten stared warily at her. "Shinobu, aren't you worried about what will happen to Aiotoga when Nassur comes back?"

"No," Shinobu affirmed with a shake of her head, calmly smiling. "If you planned to take her somewhere dangerous, I would stop you. Legally, she is an Earth citizen and my child regardless of who gave birth to her. Your parents and Nassur's mother couldn't take care of her. Don't worry; I know you two better than that." She then stared at her guest. "Benten, Aiotoga's eighteen years old. She's ready to go out into the world and carve her own niche. Regardless of what you, I, or Nassur would desire, the decision is, in the end, her own."

Benten fidgeted. "Still . . . "

"I know. You still think of her as the baby you put into that escape pod. Nothing wrong with feeling that way as long as you don't allow that to cloud your judgement when you're with Aiotoga. Now, let's put that aside until we have Nassur back safe and sound, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Next morning, Lum's scout ship landed in front of the Miyake home. Benten, Junba and Megane waited by the front gate. The boarding ramp then lowered, revealing Lum, alone. "Where's Ataru?" Megane wondered. 

"Darling's not coming," Lum quietly announced.

"What!" Benten barked. "Why not!"

"Darling wants nothing to do with flying into space."

The others were quick to imagine the row which resulted from Lum's assumption. "Pity," Benten mused. "We could've used him."

"Hey, the others should be enough," Junba announced.

"You honestly believe that?" Shinobu wondered.

Junba looked wary. "Of course, Mom."

At that moment, a van marked with Mendou-Mizunokoji Clan insignia pulled up, the side door opening to disgorge Junba's classmates. Introductions were made. Benten was quick to note one problem: Seiteki's form-fitting frock, standing out in the sea of work clothes and battle uniforms. "Are you sure you're dressed correctly?" the hunter wondered. "This isn't a tea party we're going to."

"Well," Seiteki whined. "Moroboshi-sensei once told me Elle has a whole building full of boys frozen somewhere. I thought I'd go and borrow a few for myself. Maybe I can bring some for Amora-chan since she's not going with us."

Face-fault! Benten spun on Junba. "And you asked her?"

The younger woman's eyes rolled. "I didn't ask her. She called me after Amora told her and DEMANDED to be taken to Elle or she was going to get her mother to curse the mission!"

Seiteki innocently giggled. Everyone else sighed resignedly. "Oh, well," Benten breathed out as she glared at the principal's daughter. "Maybe she can be used . . . as CANNON FODDER while we're rescuing Nassur!"

Seiteki jolted, she quickly grasping the meat of Benten's words. As her lips turned down in a sulk, everyone else laughed as they streamed aboard Lum's scout. Once everyone was strapped in, the Oni directed her ship into space.

* * *

At Tomobiki High, Amora watched the rescue party depart. "Good luck, guys. I wish Mom and Dad had parted on better terms." 

A tense Ataru strode into class. "Okay, class," he announced. "Take your seats."

The remaining students sat down. Ataru soon noticed the surprising number of absentee students. "Has there been an outbreak of flu?" he wondered before turning to his daughter. "Where is everyone?"

"They went with Mom, Benten, and Junba to rescue Nassur," Amora reported.

An explosion! After the smoke cleared, Ataru snapped, "They ALL went! Is everyone crazy or just stupid around here!"

Amora weakly shrugged. "Benten tried to contact Varanko, Dakejinzou and the hybrids . . . "

No effect! As the students watched in morbid fascination, he began to chew on Amora's desk! "Benten I can see going!" he growled. "Junba I can see going! Lum I can see going! But the rest of my class going! If they get killed while rescuing Nassur, I'll kill them!"

_Maybe I shouldn't tell him that Shinobu went, too!_ Amora mused as she watched her father do a good imitation of a beaver.

"Boy, Moroboshi-sensei is upset!" Kobamu Ken stated.

"Many of his class have gone truant," Ukeru Ayako said with a sneer. "How Western!"

"Too bad we weren't invited," Teki Seiryo muttered. "Then we wouldn't have to see Moroboshi-sensei eat desks."

The whole school then shook at Ataru's yell: "**_IT'S ALMOST LIKE TWENTY YEARS AGO!_**"

* * *

Yamada then popped up. "This stunt was done by a trained professional! Please don't do this at home!"

* * *

As her father ranted and raved, Amora slipped out of the classroom, heading down to the main floor to walk into the school computer lab. "I hate to sneak away when Dad's acting out," she muttered as she closed the door, "But certain people HAVE to be told about this." 

Fortunately, the computer room was empty. Drawing a highly advanced CD-ROM from her shirt, Amora sat at one station. Loading the disk into the player, Amora waited for the system to reboot, and then she typed several commands. Within seconds, at a speed much faster than the system normally would operate, a very familiar stylized phoenix insignia appears, surrounded by a line of Sagussan characters. A chilly-sounding female voice was then heard. "Welcome. This is the Tere'na Compudata Centre. Identify yourself and state your business."

"A real stickler for protocol, eh, Rally?" Amora muttered as she typed several commands before hitting ENTER.

The graphic then disappeared, replaced by a live-screen transmission. Amora took microphone in hand as she found herself gazing at Sagussa's computer services chief. "Hello, Amora!" Rally hailed with a smile. "What can I do for you today?"

"Rally, put me through to Noa-bachan. Something really serious has happened!"

* * *

In space somewhere between Earth and Elle, Lum's scout ship raced on. Aboard, everyone save Lum -- the pilot -- seemed bored. 

"Are we there yet?" Junba asked with a yawn.

"It's not far now, Aiotoga," Benten answered as Shinobu took the chance to examine her injuries.

"Are you sure you feel okay, Benten?" the nurse wondered. "You still haven't recovered fully from your injuries."

"I'm fine," the hunter growled. "I just want Elle's head on a platter for what she's done to Nassur and me!"

In emphasis, she bent a metal staff in half! "I'm surprised Sensei didn't come," Seiteki then spoke up, a disappointed look on her face. "I thought he was friends with Benten's hubby."

"He is," Shinobu answered. "Ataru-kun's never really liked going into space. He was always afraid something horrible would happen."

Megane frowned. "The Battle of Uru proved him right."

Junba smiled. "Don't worry, Mom. We'll be all right. Everyone says we're the most powerful class in the school."

"I hope they're right," Lum said. "Darling would never forgive me if something happened to any of you . . . eh!"

The radar alarm sounded. Benten leapt to Lum's side. "Ship just came into range," the Oni warned. "On screen."

A familiar rose-shaped cruiser appeared, racing right at them. "Ellsian patrol monitor!" Benten exclaimed. "Get us outta here!"

"I can't turn in time!" Lum warned as she tried to guide her ship clear of the oncoming juggernaut. "Brace yourselves!"

* * *

On the bridge of the Royal Ellsian Naval Ship _Rose Empress_, the patrol monitor's captain was relaxing in her command chair, she and her current bridge crew ignorant of what was about to happen. "How long until we reach home?" she asked. 

"About twelve hours, ma'am," the first officer replied as she gazed at her screen.

"Twelve more hours of boring border patrol." The captain sighed. "I want some action in the worse way!"

Unfortunately, she got her wish! The ship jolted as the shriek of tearing metal echoed from below decks. Everyone was tossed about as the patrol monitor automatically slowed down. "Report!" the captain barked out as she stumbled back into her chair.

"Ma'am!" A shipwright looked up from her station. "A small starship has collided with us on Deck Thirty-four. It's caused a minor hull breech but our shields are holding. The ship has Urusian markings on it."

"Survivors!"

"Yes, ma'am. Fourteen lifeforms from several different races."

"Tell Security to arrest them immediately." the captain ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

Deck 34 was in shambles, debris scattered everywhere. Most of it belonged to Lum's scout. Out of the rubble, the rescue party quickly extracted themselves, none the worse for wear. "So much for stealth!" Benten brushed herself off. "Is everyone okay?" 

"I think so," Lum said as she moved to take a head count. "Where's Seiteki?"

Shinobu blinked as she felt someone struggling to get out from under her. "Kindly get yourself off me, Sensei!" Seiteki growled.

Tetsubou leaned down to help her up. "You okay, Seiteki?"

"I'm fine!" Seiteki asserted as she stood up. "Just had the wind knocked out of me!"

"I imagine the captain of this junkpile'll be sending troops to capture us," Benten announced. "We'd better move out of here. Junba, can you sense anyone coming?" she asked as her eyes began to scan about for weapons.

"No, Mom." Junba shook her head. "I can't be sure. I've never tracked anyone this way before . . . "

A bulkhead then collapsed, revealing a group of heavily armed guards. "Then again," Junba muttered with a chuckle.

* * *

Benten and the others were paraded to the bridge. "Captain." The guard warrant saluted her superior. "We have all the intruders." 

The captains sneered. "So. The escaped prisoner Benten. Come to rescue your husband, eh? Who are these others?"

"The Oni's the Devil's Daughter, Lum. This one's Shinobu Miyake, laqu'r of Kyotos. The others are unknown," the warrant reported.

"So, it seems we've had a successful border patrol after all. There may be a few promotions for us. The only one left is Mr. Groom."

"Darling's safe," Lum warned. "On Earth. Where you don't DARE try to get him."

The captain turned to the signals officer. "Well, I suppose you can't have everything. Signal the Queen. Helm, let's go home."

* * *

Several hours later . . . 

Quoting Cat Stevens, morning had broken over Baran. In the bowels of Elle's castle, standing proud within the branches of the largest tree in this beautiful city, a female servant in a heat-suit stepped into a chilly room. Striding up to the cryogenic unit, she pressed controls. Within minutes, the room warmed up as the occupant within stirred. "My Queen," the servant called out as she bowed to the sixty-fourth Rose Queen of the Ellsian Kingdom. "Time to wake up. Matters of state call for your attention."

"What is it now?" Elle grumbled as the servant moved to help her up, and then she proceeded to dress her. "More ceremony?"

"The _Rose Empress_ is returning, My Queen," the servant reported. "They have recaptured Benten."

"Not relevant." Elle slipped on her cape. "She wasn't important. We kept her as a hostage in case Nassur tried to escape."

"There's more," the servant then added with a smile. "They've also captured Lum."

Elle blinked, her memory immediately replaying the three times she had tried to seize Moroboshi Ataru within her grasp. "The Devil's Daughter? You mean . . . Honey will be there, too?"

"Perhaps, My Queen. The _Rose Empress_ will be here in three hours."

"Tell the Fleet Drydock to prepare for me when the ship arrives," Elle sternly ordered.

"By your command, My Queen."

"What's the physical status of Nassur?"

"His injuries are healing but it'll a while before he can be frozen again. The lab is weeks away from being completely repaired."

Elle sighed. "This delay has been costly. The Plan must continue. I don't wish to end up like Babara."

The servant was quick to note the expression deep in the Rose Queen's eyes. _There's been so much fear in the Queen since Lady Babara perished. She thinks of nothing except staying young and beautiful forever!_

* * *

Three hours later, the _Rose Empress_ docked at the Fleet Dockyards. As they were paraded off the ship, the younger members of the "rescue squad" couldn't help but gape at the beauty around them. "This is Elle?" Shinpai exclaimed. 

"Humph! No cute guys to chase!" Seiteki noted with a snort.

Dansei shrugged. "I guess they're in Elle's Refrigerator of Love."

"And they say I'M greedy!" Seiteki exclaimed.

"Nothing's changed since we last were here," Megane noted.

"Yeah," Benten mused. "Same old flower-filled planet run by a tyrant!"

A guard slammed Benten in the back of the head with her rifle butt! As the hunter doubled over, Junba and Lum moved to steady her. "No talking in the line!" the guard barked.

Benten waved Lum and Junba off. "I'm okay! What was that for!"

"My mother was a member of the commando team who caught you and Nassur," the guard announced. "She used to tell me stories on how tough you were! I think she exaggerated. I recaptured Nassur and you let something like a rifle-butt to the head lay you out! Wimp!"

"Why you . . . !"

Benten moved on her. "No, Benten!" Lum gasped as she restrained her friend. "This isn't the time!"

Before the fight could start, a rose-embossed hovercar pulled up. The door opened, allowing Elle to emerge, she currently in robes of state. Her eyes quickly scanned the prisoners for a familiar face. The younger students were all taken aback on seeing the Rose Queen.

"That's Elle!" Rikoshugi exclaimed.

"I didn't know she was such a babe!" Kokishin noted.

Omoshiroi blinked. "She looks like Amora."

Then, with a joyous smile, Elle raced at the group, her arms out. "Ataru!"

_Darling!_ Lum wondered, blinking. _But Darling isn't here!_

Elle ran into Tetsubou's arms. Mass face-fault from everyone else! "She would do that again," Shinobu groaned, her eyes rolling.

"Honey!" Elle gushed. "How I've longed to see you again!"

Tetsubou began to sweat. "Um . . . I hate to say this but I'm not Moroboshi Ataru-sensei, Your Majesty."

Hearing that, Elle jolted before she backed away, her eyes locked on the young scion of the Mendou-Mizunokoji fortune. After taking a moment to absorb that, the Rose Queen then spun on Lum. "Where is he! What have you done with him, Devil's Daughter!"

"He didn't come," Lum reported. "He's still on Earth!"

Elle paled. "What! You mean I was awakened, allowed to age . . . and Honey didn't even come! How horrible!" Elle then began to wail. "I'm denied my true love again! Will we ever reunite so I can marry him . . . !"

"Excitable, isn't she?" Dansei noted with a sneer.

Seiteki smiled. "People who like Sensei can't be all bad."

Then, Elle's demeanor cleared up as she reached over to grab Tetsubou! "Well, I guess this one's worthy enough to be the newest member of my Cute Boys!" she announced as she moved to drag him off.

"Hey!" Tetsubou exclaimed. "Leggo!"

Junba leapt into Elle's path. "Leave him alone! Queen or no queen, I'm not letting you put him into a freezer!"

Elle snorted. "Don't try to stop me, girl!"

Incensed, Junba lunged . . . but before she could land a punch, she was grabbed in mid-air by a metal hand. "What's this!" Seven Bake Rose wondered with a sneer full of contempt as she glared the younger girl down. "A gymnast or something!"

Junba was force to hobble on one foot. "Let Nassur and us go or I'll . . . !"

"What?" Elle wondered before she peered intently at the younger woman. "You look familiar! Who are you!"

"She's my daughter, Elle!" Shinobu snapped. "Leave her alone."

Elle quickly did a comparison between the princess of Kyotos and her adopted child. "Your daughter? She looks nothing like you!" A shake of the head. "Oh, never mind. Take them all to the prison. We'll execute them later."

"By your command, My Queen," the guard commander acknowledged with a bow.

"What about me!" Tetsubou wondered.

Elle thumbed him. "Him, too."

Without hesitation, the guards herded the rescue party into a nearby personnel carrier. Elle watched them dragged off, her eyes not swerving from Junba. "That's Shinobu's daughter, eh?" she mused aloud. "She's a pretty one. Who could her father be? She looks so familiar . . . " Her voice trailed off as she considered the point, and then, shaking her head, she called out, "Captain!"

"My Queen?" the captain responded with a bow.

"Now that Lum's out of the way, I think it's time that we take Honey for ourselves." Elle then chuckled as she turned to gaze at Seven Bake Rose. "Are the Black Roses ready for a little retrieval mission, Rose?"

"I believe so, Boss," the cyborg replied, grinning. "I'll assign a squad immediately to the _Rose Empress_."

Elle nodded her thank before proceeding back to her hovercar. Once inside, the automated ground vehicle sped off to her castle.

"You require us, Mother?"

A beautiful teenage girl, looking barely older than Junba, had just appeared beside Elle, she dressed in a form-fitting black jumpsuit with a dark red rose stitched over her left breast. Elle was startled for a second before calming down. "Don't do that to me, Fura!"

"I apologize, Mother," Fura said with a repentant look. "Is there a job for us?"

"Yes," Elle acknowledged. "You're to go to Earth and retrieve Honey for me."

"At once, Mother."

With that, Fura disappeared. "I was smart to allow the Freemasons to come here," Elle mused. "Now nobody will get in the way of my getting Honey! The years of separation are over and Honey will be mine!"

Laughing shrilly, the Rose Queen relaxed as her vehicle returned her to her palace.

* * *

Meanwhile, the rescue party found themselves dumped into a jail cell, the procedure under Seven Bake Rose's supervision. "Looks like you old-timers're finished!" the cyborg noted, her sneer all too apparent. "I hope the Boss'll let me finish you all . . . personally." 

In the blink of the proverbial eye, Megane appeared before her! "Brag on, Rose! Your day will come!"

Her fist smashed him down. "What an ugly face!" she gasped. "I'll be doing the Galaxy a favour killing you!"

Lum's eyes rolled. "For once, we're in agreement!"

Megane sent his former classmate a wounded look on hearing that. "Enjoy the elegant accommodations," Rose parted with a snicker. "By tomorrow you'll all be dead and Moroboshi'll be the Boss' again. The Black Roses'll see to that!"

With a laugh, she headed off, most of the guard detail following her. The rescue party watched their captors depart, and then took a moment to absorb their current surroundings. "Tcha!" Lum snapped. "How'll we warn Darling!"

"Who or what're the Black Roses?" Seiteki wondered.

"Elle's laboratory-born children with all of her Cute Boys," Shinobu reported. "They're a special missions fighting force created by the Freemasons living here. Varanko's brother Dureko's in charge of that project."

Dansei shuddered. "I've heard of them. Are they any good?"

"They could easily defeat even the ninjas serving Ataru's uncle," Shinobu replied.

Junba blinked as she stared quizzically at her birth mother. "Elle's children with her Cute Boys! Does that mean Am- . . . "

"Aiotoga!" Benten shushed her. "We might be monitored."

Lum faced the others. "No words on you-know-who, got it?"

The students nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Does that include me?"

Everyone yelped in shock on hearing that strange voice, and then they spun around to gaze on the target of their rescue as he stepped out from the shadows. "Nassur!" Benten cried out as she lunged over to fiercely embrace him. "You're all right!"

He jolted as her arms slammed up against him. "Owch! Take it easy! That's where I got shot!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Benten intoned as she rained gentle kisses all over his face.

While taking a moment to enjoy his wife's administrations of affection, he did not miss her dressings. "What happened to you?"

"Had a little accident," she replied with a smile. "As you see, I brought some help."

She waved around them to indicate the others in the rescue party. Nassur took a moment to gaze upon many familiar faces. "I didn't know Junba's dad was such a hunk," Seiteki mused before she added, "But he pales against Sensei!"

"It's good to see you again," Nassur greeted them. "I wish this was under happier circumstances though."

He took some moments to chat with Lum, Shinobu and Megane to catch up on old times. After hearing Shinobu had adopted his child, he then turned to Benten, she having brought Junba up to stand with her. "Aiotoga, this is your father," Benten announced.

A respectful silence fell as Junba and Nassur gazed on each other. "Hello, Aiotoga," the latter greeted her with a delighted smile. "You're very beautiful . . . just like your mother."

Hearing that, Junba collapsed into her father's arms, she tightly embracing him. The Vosian gritted his teeth as his body instantly protested the pressure on his ribs. He remained stoically quiet, though. "Oh, Daddy! I finally get to meet you!" Junba wailed.

"I'm glad you did," Nassur tearfully groaned.

"I didn't know Nassur-san was so emotional," Dansei mused. "He's crying as much as Aiotoga is."

Seiteki was sympathetic. "I don't think those're tears of joy."

Mercifully for the wounded Vosian hunter, the embrace ended. Junba then introduced her classmates to him. As with Benten earlier back in Tomobiki, Nassur was quick to notice Seiteki's choice of attire. "Why's she dressed this way?" he then asked Lum.

"She's exactly like her mother at that age, or so I'm told." Lum rolled her eyes. "A relentless boy-chaser."

"I see," he said with a nod. "One of _those_."

"That's right," Seiteki confirmed with a smile. "Nassur-san, do you know if Elle still has her Refrigerator of Love?"

"As far as I know."

"Fine. See you later."

She then promptly walked out of the cell and out of the prison! Tetsubou and Shinpai zipped over to examine the cell door, both quick to note that it was still locked. "How!" the former exclaimed in disbelief.

"How did she do that!" Nassur parroted.

Lum shook her head. "We keep asking the same thing. When it comes to boys, nothing keeps Seiteki away!"

The Vosian chuckled. "Now, I understand what Koosei-kun complained about every time he thought of Sakura at that age! Anyhow," -- he took a deep breath -- "Let's take stock of what we have."

"Well," Junba began as she indicated her classmates, "Rin and Ren can transform into tiger-bulls like their dad. Tetsubou, Dansei-chan and I are trained in martial arts. The rest are pretty good, too."

"The only problem is lack of experience," Lum warned. "I still have all my powers, as does Shinobu."

"I have powers of my own," Megane reported.

"Yeah," the Oni noted with a sneer. "You can _smell_ them for miles!"

Megane glared at her. Dansei laughed. "That's a good one!"

"But I am worried about Darling," Lum then added. "If the Black Roses get him, he'll be in trouble!"

"Aren't the Sagussans still around?" Nassur wondered. "You can still contact them through the Dreamscape, can't you? The Gatherer or any other of their ships could be over Earth or come here in two hours. Lufy, Priss or Troop Six would tear this place to pieces."

Darkness shrouded Lum. "The Gatherer was destroyed sixteen years ago over Uru," she explained with hooded eyes, her voice as cold as deep space. "Since then, Darling and I've had little reason to maintain contact with them outside Noa, Mie and Makoto. It . . . was for the best. Besides, I haven't practised slipping into the Dreamscape for some time. If the guards notice, they could try to stop me."

Nassur shuddered as he sensed a wave of long-repressed sorrow wash through their pe'cha bond. "I see. What about your kids?"

"The one still at home isn't much of a fighter," Lum then added with a sigh.

"I see." The Vosian then nodded. "Don't worry. We'll come up with a plan."

"I know!" Megane then exclaimed. "We can call Cherry with my Holy Telephone!"

Confusion crossed Nassur's and Benten's faces. The others groaned. "Oh, Lyna!" Lum moaned, her eyes rolling. "Not that again!"

"'Holy Telephone!'" Benten asked. "Isn't Cherry dead!"

As everyone morbidly watched, Megane drew out a white cellular phone from one of his sleeved, and then he proceeded to press the number keys. "Of course," the monk calmly reported. "That doesn't mean I can't talk to him for guidance."

Nassur looked incredulous. "A phone straight to Heaven!"

Shinobu snorted in disbelief. "So they claim."

"Who pays for long distance charges?" Benten wondered. "You get phone cards with it!"

Everyone was quick to notice the muffled sound of a phone ringing. After four, Cherry's voice was then heard: "Hello, this is Sakurambou Hayao. I'm not home right now, so please leave your name, number and plane of existence after you hear the _beep_!"

A _beep_ then echoed from the machine. Mass face-fault! "An answering machine!" Nassur exclaimed. "Where can you go in Heaven!"

"Cherry, it's Megane Aisuru," the monk called out. "We're in trouble on planet Elle and we need advice. Call as soon as you can."

He cut the connection. "So much for that," Nassur noted, his eyes rolling. "We'll have to think up a plan on our own."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Tomobiki . . . 

It was late evening. Twenty Black Roses materialized inside the Moroboshi home, they having beamed down from a cloak-capable scout ship dispatched from the _Rose Empress_, the patrol monitor awaiting them beyond Pluto's orbit. The house was empty. "We're to take the people in this house alive," Fura ordered. "It shouldn't be hard. Mother's Beloved is no killer by nature. He doesn't have frequent access to his cyborg body and the ninjitsu database in his head is said to be neutralized. Scout for any warning devices and disarm them."

Minutes later, the group mustered again in the living room. "The house is clean," one of the warrior-maidens reported, and then she produced two framed pictures. "I found these in the master bedroom."

One picture was of Amora. The other was of a newborn, brown-haired Oni girl, it captioned:

_Koishii  
__Our Darling Daughter  
__4-9 April 1985  
__Our Eternal Love  
__Your Parents_

"The Ninth of April!" another Black Rose wondered. "Wasn't that the Earth date of the Battle of Uru?"

All the visiting warriors took a moment to take in that revelation. "He lost more than just the Gatherer," Fura sadly mused with a shake of her head. "But who's this?" She then gazed at Amora's picture. "This can't be Reiko Moroboshi."

"She looks like Mother!" one girl gasped.

"Yes, she does," Fura trilled, and then her eyes went very wide as it suddenly dawned on her who this might be. "Then . . . could it be that she's our missing sister Amora! One of the ones taken from gestation when Lady Babara died!"

The other Black Roses readily nodded after they took the chance to examine their half-sister's portrait. "Very well," Fura declared with a determined nod. "We'll take her with us to show Mother! Until then, hide!"

The others vanished. "This is for you, little Koishii," Fura said to Koishii's picture. "Now your father'll be at peace."

After returning the pictures to where they were found, Fura hid herself.

* * *

In space . . . 

The _Lum-san_ continued her maiden voyage. On the bridge, Mendou Shuutarou was relaxing in his chair when the communications officer looked up from his monitor board. "Captain, we're getting a distress signal from an Urusian ship."

"Urusian?" Mendou wondered. "Can you locate it?"

"Trying," the officer replied as he pressed a few buttons. Everyone turned to gaze on the starmap over the main viewscreen, where a target icon appeared. "The signal's source-point is coordinates 05-37-90. Twelve hours from Elle."

"Elle?" Mendou questioned as he straightened himself in his chair. "What are they doing there! Identify!"

"It's a scout. Pendant number CSU-479-L."

"That's Lum's ship!" Jariten exclaimed. "What's she doing out there?"

"Running into an Ellsian patrol monitor from the sounds of the automatic distress signal," the communications officer reported.

"I see." Mendou grimaced. He knew through his son about Benten's return. If Lum's ship was close to planet Elle, it was easy to determine why. "Helm, set course for Elle! Signals, alert all Federation craft to our intentions! Ensure that Shogai Dakejinzou on Fukunotaiin, Lord Varanko on Cademus and Commander Darsei on Home Base are told about this! All hands, yellow alert!"

The cruiser banked over.

* * *

Back on Earth . . . 

Ataru returned home. Tired and depressed, he didn't sense the Black Roses discreetly hiding throughout his home. "Damn those idiots!" he exclaimed after slipping off his shoes in the entranceway. "Running off with Lum and Benten like that! Do they want to get killed!" Drawing his newspaper, he sat down in the living room. "And Shinobu went with them, too! This is insane!"

"Either he's too overconfident to worry about us," a Black Rose hissed to the group leader from her hiding place somewhere in the upper floor, "Or he's too involved in what he's doing to notice us."

"I think it's the latter," Fura whispered back, nodding.

Hours passed. Ataru carried out his evening chores, missing each Black Rose as he walked from the refrigerator, to the bathtub, or to the closet. Marking papers, he didn't notice the alien warriors handing him pens and other stationery. Finally, he went to bed, hopelessly surrounded by Elle's many children. As he began to doze off, the Black Roses advanced on him. "Now's our chance," Fura whispered.

The group swarmed around Ataru -- as he tiredly sat up. "Damn! Forgot to shut off the light," he muttered.

"Don't worry, Lord Moroboshi!" the Roses cheerily announced. "We'll put them out for you!"

In a New York minute, the drugged and hog-tied Ataru was readied for transport. "That was easy," one Black Rose chirped as her mother's would-be husband was beamed away to their orbiting ship.

"There's still one more," Fura reminded them. "Our missing sister. She should be coming home soon. Let's be ready for her."

The Black Roses hid themselves. Sure enough, minutes later, Amora walked in. "I don't understand," she muttered. "Chasing boys without Sei-chan around's no fun . . . eh!" She then halted, her eyes glowing as her powers quickly locked in on the people within her home. _Someone's here . . . and none of them feel like Dad!_ With that, she gingerly stepped into the living room. "Anyone home!"

Before she could react, Amora was seized from behind and drugged! As soon as she passed out, the other Black Roses moved to bind her. "We have them both!" Fura exclaimed as her half-sisters congratulated themselves.

"Won't Mother be surprised when we tell her?" another Black Rose gushed.

"We'll tell her after we show this one to Lord Dureko," Fura amended with a nod to Amora. "We owe it to him to do so."

With that, the alien warriors disappeared.

* * *

Back on Elle . . . 

Junba handed her father's kill-belt back. "Here, Dad. I believe this still belongs to you."

"Thanks," Nassur said as he slipped it on. "I'm glad to have it back. I'll make sure you'll get your own soon."

Junba's eyes twinkled. "Sure."

Suddenly, the cell door flew open, Seiteki being tossed in right after by the guards! "Don't try that again!" one snapped.

"Seiteki!" Tetsubou gasped as he rushed to her side. "What happened!"

"She tried to kidnap some of my Cute Boys," Elle answered as she stormed into the cell, the Rose Queen flanked by several soldiers. "She would've succeeded if I hadn't been getting ready to go back to sleep!"

"Greedy pig!" Seiteki snarled as she stumbled back to her feet to glare Elle down. "You've got over one hundred thousand boys in that freezer of yours! Why can't you give a few up for me!"

"You're lucky," Elle answered with a glare of her own. "I should've ordered your termination immediately. Stealing one's lover is a capital crime on Elle, you horse-thief!"

Nassur sneered. "How come you've never been caught?"

Elle snorted. "You're so cruel. That's the thanks _I_ get for keeping you and that jail-bait wife of yours alive all these years!"

"You call freezing them for seventeen years deserving of thanks!" Lum exclaimed, bolting to her feet.

"You're lucky I'm executing you tomorrow," Elle said as she stared at her rival. "I would rather torture you first, then have you beg for your life before you die. Still, in the end, I win. The Black Roses just captured Honey!"

Lum jolted. "No! It can't be! Darling isn't that easy to capture!"

"Apparently he was," Elle retorted as she turned to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've a wedding to plan! Ta-ta for now!"

After the door was locked behind the Rose Queen's entourage, Seiteki then popped up behind her. "Hey!" the principal's daughter snapped. "At least give me one last wish before I die!"

The guards exchanged confused glances; once again, the door was properly secured. A larger female guard seized Seiteki by the throat and dragged her back to the cell. "No fair!" Seiteki protested. "I'm not a queen!"

"You know, Ozuno," Dansei spoke up with a glare at her classmate after Seiteki was flung against a wall to make her behave herself, "You COULD use your escaping powers to bring us a key!"

"Stupid tomboy!" Seiteki growled. "That's not funny!"

"I never thought Ataru would get captured that easily," Nassur lamented.

"Darling's a lot different since you last saw him, Nassur-chan," Lum replied. "He's been in mourning for a very long time."

* * *

Sometime later, Elle walked into her room to find Ataru helplessly trussed up in a red ribbon on her bed, a note tied to one wrist. "Oh, I see my gift's arrived!" She then gleefully untied Ataru before reading the note. "'To Mother from the Black Roses!' How sweet!" 

_Whose sick idea was this?_ Ataru grumbled.

_

* * *

In response to that, the writers sneezed!_

* * *

"There!" Elle breathed out as she finished untying him. "You're free now to be mine, all mine!"

Ataru glared at her. "I thought we saw the last of each other years ago!"

"Mmmm . . . yes," Elle admitted. "But that was until I captured that Oni and her party invading my planet."

"What! If you've harmed Lum or any of my students, I'll . . . !"

"I haven't harmed any of them . . . _yet_! Though I could spare the children if you'd perform a special favour for me."

Silence fell as the teacher considered those words. "For my students, anything!"

"Marry me!"

"What about Lum?"

"I'll execute her with Benten, Megane and Miyake. You can't be married to two people at the same time, you know."

"B-but..." he stuttered. "I love Lum! I can't let you execute her!"

"But does Lum really love you?" Elle wondered. "Honey, I KNOW what happened at the Battle of Uru. I know about Koishii."

Silence.

He croaked out, "Koishii . . . "

"Did Lum ever want a family on _your_ terms?" the Rose Queen pressed on as she leaned up to gaze into his eyes. "Honey, all Lum wants is a husband who won't rebel against her, not like that moron she dated before she ever met you!" She waved to herself. "Honey, I watched you after the Battle of Uru. Your love of life disappeared! You secretly wished your own death several times but never had the courage to carry through with it!" On noting that he wasn't trying to respond -- Ataru was just staring nowhere -- Elle reached up to gently turn his face so he could gaze into her eyes. "Lum doesn't care about you, Honey! She never has! If she did, she wouldn't have allowed you to deteriorate like this. Those you call your 'friends' back in Tomobiki are equally uncaring! All they care about is the fact that _Lum_ was sad over losing little Koishii while _you_ were left to wallow in your own depression! Not even those girls on Sagussa cared . . . "

"Enough!" Ataru barked, and then he closed his eyes before waving his hands in a baseball "safe" gesture. "All right! Do what you want with the adults, but don't you dare harm the students! If you do, I'll kill you!"

Elle blinked, and then one of her eyebrows arched. "Even the one who sneaks into my freezer to steal my Cute Boys?"

"Her?" Ataru was quick to realize who Elle spoke of. "You could take her out and club her to death and I won't mind . . . "

"Done!"

Congratulation balloons burst and confetti fell as a banner stating CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE MARRIED! flapped above them.

"Aren't you a celebrating a little too soon?" Ataru muttered.

* * *

Minutes later, Elle, with Seven Bake Rose accompanying her along with the usual entourage, returned to Nassur's cell. Everyone was quick to notice the Rose Queen's delighted smile. "What do you want now, Elle?" Nassur asked. 

"I've come to announce my plans," Elle crowed. "Honey has asked me to allow the kids to return home while Lum, Benten, Miyake and Megane will be executed tomorrow before my wedding. Nassur'll be frozen again as soon as the cryogenics laboratory is repaired."

"How did you manage to bribe Ataru into agreeing to that!" Benten demanded. "He'll only end up in your freezer!"

"Yeah!" Seiteki said as she -- once again! -- appeared beside Elle OUTSIDE the cell. "Sensei'd NEVER agree to that willingly!"

In a flash, Rose grabbed Seiteki. "Out again!" the cyborg snarled. "How do you do that!"

Elle glared coldly at the principal's daughter. "He also agreed to have you clubbed to death!"

"Sensei agreed to WHAT!" Seiteki shrieked.

Laughter from some of the students. "Just joking," Elle crooned.

Seiteki's face slammed into the floor after hearing that! "The reason he agreed to my terms is this: Honey found out how much I really care about him," Elle said as she gazed on each of the prisoners, and then she pointed at Lum. "And it's more than you!"

Lum shuddered. "But I love Darling! More than my own life!"

"Perhaps," Elle mused as she turned away. "But I love Honey even more!"

As the Rose Queen departed to get on with wedding plans, Seiteki was thrown back into the cell! "Don't do that again!" Rose snarled as the younger girl's face was crushed against a wall. "Unless you REALLY want to be clubbed to death!"

The door slammed shut behind her! "Oh, no!" Junba wailed as she tightly embraced her mother. "Elle's gonna kill you!"

"Buck up, Aiotoga," Nassur assured his daughter as he moved to kneel beside her. "Your mother and I've got ourselves out of tighter spots before! This isn't any different."

Junba sniffed. "R-r-really?"

Nassur nodded. "All you need's a little bit of faith."

And speak of the angel, Megane's Holy Telephone rang. "Hello, this is Megane Aisuru!" he answered it. "Yes, Cherry, you heard correctly. We do need help . . . hai . . . hai . . . wait a minute." He removed one of his sandals to stare at the heel. "Size seven. I'll tell them. See you in a couple of minutes." He cut the line. "Cherry'll give us his spiritual guidance in Nirvana."

Mass face-fault! "How the hell do we get there, you fraud!" Dansei yelled. "We're stuck _here_!"

"We project our astral selves there, Dansei," Megane calmly answered. "Everyone join hands with each other and form a circle."

A prayer circle was formed. "Now what?" Tetsubou wondered.

"We concentrate, chanting 'Ventora, Ventora, Heaven People.'"

"We're doing a homage to the second television episode to talk to a dead gluttonous monk!" Shinobu muttered under her breath as one of her eyebrows twitched. "This just CAN'T get worse!"

"Let's do it," Nassur spoke up. "It can't hurt."

The group chanted the incantation a dozen times slowly before their minds faded out . . .

* * *

And they found themselves on a beautiful, sunny tropical beach! "This is Heaven!" Benten exclaimed. 

"This is only where Cherry's soul lives," Megane explained. "You should see where some of the really powerful Buddhas live!"

"So where is the little creep?" Lum wondered.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

An explosion! "Some things haven't changed," Nassur muttered as everyone found themselves gazing on Cherry.

"Ah, Aisuru-kun," Cherry hailed his student. "It's been some time."

"Not since that exorcism five years ago," Megane replied with a respectful bow.

"True. Is Ryuunosuke's leg better? It was a very long drop from Tokyo Tower, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Megane then leaned over, lowering his voice to ensure the students didn't overhear. "Any sign of Tan-chan or Koishii-chan?"

A shake of the head. "I'm sorry, my student. I've not been able to locate either of them anywhere up Here."

Nassur and Benten, who were within hearing range, exchanged concerned looks. The Buddhists shared a prayer, and then Cherry turned to face his other guests. "My," he said with a smile. "Everyone certainly has changed since I came Here. Is that young Junba?"

"It is, Sakurambou-san," Junba answered with a bow; she had been seven when he passed away.

"You look so much like your mother," Cherry commented as he turned to gaze on her parents. "Ah, I knew you two weren't dead! Glad to see you both again. Cinba's been very anxious to see you, Nassur."

Nassur smiled. "Fate isn't finished with us yet."

After greeting Seiteki, Cherry turned to Shinobu, his eyes suspiciously narrowing. "There's something ominous about you, Shinobu," the deceased monk then warned. "Much bad luck is coming for you!"

Shinobu whacked him with a hammer! "Who has bad luck!"

"Cherry, what can you tell us?" Lum cut in to stop the approaching fight.

A deep breath. "I must consult the stars first to be sure."

And with that, Cherry drew a mallet to slam Megane with it over the skull. As stars appeared over his apprentice's head, the deceased monk began his divination. "The stars say a rescue shall come from a ship from space that's new."

"A new ship?" Junba wondered. "The _Lum-san_? Ten-chan's ship!"

"Perhaps," Cherry said. "But there's danger. Especially for Junba . . . and Shinobu will be the one who causes it."

Shinobu blinked. "Me!"

"That's why I sensed those ominous feelings when I saw you," Cherry explained before continuing his divination. "Ah! There's the sign of the phoenix. Something HORRIBLE will occur to Ataru."

"The phoenix!" Lum wondered. "Could it be . . . Sagussa?"

"Not Sagussa," Cherry replied. "But something . . . or rather SOMEONE . . . who has been profoundly influenced by that planet and its civilization, both past and present. Something long thought lost to him and you, Lum, will make contact with Ataru . . . and nearly cause his doom as a result!" A pause. "Ah! There's trouble for Amora as well. She'll face a choice between her family and her real mother."

"Amora didn't even come with us!" Benten protested.

"My dear, the stars don't lie," Cherry warned.

By then, the stars began to fade as Megane recovered from the blow on his head. "Kingyo Tea's great after a long day . . . " he dizzily muttered, and then he shook his head. "Owch! Did you have to hit me so hard, Sensei!"

Cherry patted him gently on the head. "My apologies, Aisuru-kun."

"We'd better get back to the real world before the guards find out what we're doing," Benten warned.

"I think you're right," Megane agreed. "Thank you for your guidance, Sensei."

He bowed to his teacher. "Think nothing of it," Cherry dismissed him with a gentle wave of his hand, and then he leaned up to whisper into Megane's ear. "I'll keep looking for Tanoshii and Koishii." He then perked up. "By the way, did you bring some sukiyaki?"

Mass face-fault! "Same old Cherry," Nassur groaned . . .

* * *

As, in the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves in their cell. "We're back!" Dansei exclaimed. 

"Oh, you're awake." A guard stared into the cell. "Here's your itinerary: at noon, Lum, Benten, Miyake and Megane will be executed. The students shall be sent back to Earth. Nassur will remain here until the cryogenics laboratory is repaired. Have a nice day."

She departed. "Nice tour director," Benten muttered. "Cherry said a rescue's coming. It can't be too soon for me."

"Strange," Tetsubou mused on noticing the dawn. "It was night when we left but it's morning now. How can that be?"

"Time moves slower in Nirvana, my son," Megane answered him, the monk currently reading a rather **large** book titled _Other Planes and Their Rules_. "A minute there means hours here . . . "

"It's strange that Cherry can't find either Tanoshii or Koishii," Lum whispered to Shinobu.

"Since when's he found anything but a refrigerator?" Shinobu retorted.

"True." Lum then looked anxious. "But what about Amora! If Elle's got her hands on her, we ARE in trouble."

"Funny," Nassur mused. "If Elle has Amora, she acts like she doesn't even know she exists."

Megane gazed at the ceiling. "I sense something ominous happening around Amora right now."

* * *

And speaking of which . . . 

Amora's eyes opened. "W-where am I?"

"Welcome home, Amora."

Her eyes flashed. "W-who's there!" she stammered. _Impossible! No one's able to sneak up on me like that!_

And sure enough, someone appeared before her! Amora found herself gazing at a man with shoulder-length, wavy, grey-streaked red hair -- complete with trimmed mustache and goatee -- and the most piercing set of green eyes she had EVER seen on anyone. His suntanned skin -- to say anything of the black jumpsuit over-layering a full-body suit composed of non-reflective chainmail armour -- told her more.

"A Yehisrite . . . ?"

"I am Dureko of Kyotos," the newcomer announced. "Elder teacher of Her Majesty's Black Roses."

Amora blanched. "B-black R-roses?" she stuttered, immediately remembering Lum's tales about how she was born. "I . . . b-but . . . why have I been brought here!" she then demanded. "Where am I!"

The Freemason grand teacher snorted. "Where else would you be, child? This is the base camp for Project: Black Rose."

"But why!"

"Easily explained. You're one of two missing Black Roses created by Lady Babara."

"I see," Amora responded as she moved to force herself to be calm. "Why've I been kidnapped?"

Dureko's eyebrow rose. "As I said, it is easily explained. You're to fulfil your destiny as a Black Rose!"

"What!" she exclaimed. "I'll never work for her!"

"It matters not," he retorted with a glare. "You were created to serve Her Majesty. The sooner you accept that, the better!"

Amora shuddered. "I don't need any training . . . especially from the likes of you!"

Her empathic force bolt lashed out. It barely came close, the Freemason teacher having leapt over Amora to gracefully land behind her. "I see you're very adept in the use of your powers," Dureko noted. "Was your teacher one of your father's pet Pirpirsiw'r?"

"N-no," she stuttered. "He was a Shinto priest named Budou Chiezou. I also had some tutoring from Chishiki Rogo."

A nod. "I've heard of them both." He made a dismissive wave with his hand. "It matters not. We'll be able to make use of you."

"I don't want to be a Black Rose . . . " Amora protested.

"_I_ shall decide that," Dureko warned before barking out, "Fura!"

Fura suddenly appeared. "My Lord?"

"Keep an eye on this one. I wish to study her and see if she's fit to join us."

"Yes, sir."

With that, Fura disappeared. "And what if I'm not fit to join you?" Amora wondered, her whole body shuddering.

"Then we will be RID of you."

And with that, Dureko vanished. Amora remained still before she sank to her knees. "What have I gotten myself into . . . ?"

* * *

At Baran Cathedral, everyone had begun to gather for Elle's wedding. Hundreds filled the pews, anxious for their queen's luck to improve. A television announcer monitored events for the local news. "Everything's ready for the wedding of Her Majesty, Queen Elle the Sixty-forth, and the retired Daimon'cha and Daite'cha of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa, Ataru Moroboshi of the planet Earth. This is the fourth try between these two heads-of-state, but I've been given word that THIS time is definite . . . "

* * *

In orbit . . . 

"I can't believe that after all this time, Elle still wants to marry Moroboshi," Mendou muttered.

The _Lum-san_ had invisibly slipped through the gateway of the flower-shaped planetary defence shield to assume a hovering position over the Baran Cathedral. The Earth starship wasn't alone. "Cloaking systems operational," Jariten reported.

"All accompanying craft are in place," the signal officer added.

"Battle stations!" Mendou barked.

The crew leapt to action stations. On the main viewscreen, the Wedding March had begun. Elle escorted an obviously drugged Ataru to the altar. "Weapons," Mendou then ordered. "Target the cathedral!"

"Aye, sir!" the ship's combat officer replied.

Jariten raised an eyebrow. "We're attacking a church?"

A chuckle. "You should know me by now, Ten. Even dazed, Moroboshi's very dangerous. One distraction'll get him going."

"Just checking."

"All weapons ready," the combat officer reported.

"Fire!" Mendou barked.

* * *

At Ground Zero . . . 

"If anyone objects to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace!" the bishop intoned.

The cathedral shook violently as particle guns lanced into the masonry. The impact was enough to throw everyone off his feet. The poor bishop, nicely toasted by the attack, then muttered, "A simple 'yes' . . . would have . . . been sufficient . . . "

He passed out. "WHAT'S GOING ON!" Elle screamed as she bolted to her feet.

A guard raced up to her. "Your Majesty! We're being bombarded by a starship!"

"Who!"

"We can't tell! She's cloaked!"

The Rose Queen shuddered. "I've underestimated Lum and her friends! She used the same trick as the first time! How unoriginal!"

"Why do you continue falling for it?" the guard then wondered.

"Place Honey in the Refrigerator!" Elle ordered as she ripped off her gown to reveal her battlesuit. "Destroy that ship!"

She raced off for the Planetary Defence Centre. Guards moved to seize Ataru . . . as his dazed look faded. "Sorry, troops!"

They were knocked out with nerve pinches. Ataru then slipped off his jacket, scanning for a route of escape. "Seems Elle forgot that I have all the saikoo jinseijitsu skills Negako-oneechan gave me," he muttered. "That's one mistake!"

A photon torpedo then exploded nearby! Ataru ducked the flying shrapnel, and then he crouch-walked towards a nearby exit. "Can't risk the Cyborg; haven't used it since Reiko was at the Women's Academy! I'd better get out of here before I DO get killed!"

* * *

Baran Cathedral was not the only place which had been shaken by the _Lum-san_'s attack. 

"What's going on!" Junba gasped as everyone automatically ducked from the sounds of explosions.

"Either Elle likes to use lasers and photon torpedoes to celebrate her wedding or our rescuers are here," Nassur answered.

Another explosion then made the wall around the cell door crack! "Look!" Tetsubou hissed, pointing. "We can escape!"

A guard instantly appeared in front of the door. "The prisoners will stop thinking of escape!"

The door slammed down on her! "That's part one," Nassur said as the rescue party headed off. "Let's go do part two."

* * *

The Planetary Defence Centre was a beehive of activity as Elle stormed in. "Your Majesty!" the general-in-command hailed her with a sharp salute. "Why are you here!" 

"Why hasn't that ship been shot down!" the Rose Queen barked.

"Please understand, My Queen," the general answered. "The enemy ship's cloaked. We can't lock weapons on it."

"My Queen!" a sensory tech yelped. "Other starships have decloaked inside the defence shield and are moving to bombard the city!"

"What!" Elle exclaimed. "Who!"

The technician scanned her readout, her face sallowing. "One is a Yehisrite battle galleon registered in Kyotos, the second is a Fukunokami frigate with independent registry, and the third is the _Perseverance_!"

"Incoming message from our original attacker," a signaller reported.

Mendou Shuutarou's image then appeared on the main viewscreen. "This is Captain Mendou Shuutarou, commanding officer of the United Nations Starship _Lum-san_," he hailed. "Surrender now or be destroyed."

"What do you want!" Elle growled. "Why have you attacked us!"

Mendou smirked. "According to Grand Duke Varanko of Kyotos, you're holding the laqu'r of Kyotos, Crown Princess Miyake Shinobu, prisoner. And according to Shogai Dakejinzou of Fukunokami and Darsei of Home Base, you're holding Moroboshi Ataru, Moroboshi Lum, Nassur of Vos, his wife Benten and several others as prisoners illegally. Release them in ten minutes or the bombardment will continue!"

The screen went dark. "My Queen . . . ?" the general probed.

"My Queen!" a security technician then yipped. "Ataru Moroboshi has escaped!"

"Nassur and the others have escaped!" another reported.

"Find them or it'll be on your heads!" Elle screamed.

"Don't bother!" a voice barked. "We're already here!"

Everyone spun around to see the rescue party -- save Ozuno Seiteki -- storm into the Defence Centre, several perimeter guards currently unconscious at their feet. "You!" Elle screamed out.

"Give up?" Nassur wondered.

"Never!"

Benten hefted a blaster. "Fine!"

A firefight started off! Right at the start, Seven Bake Rose lunged at Nassur. "I've waited years for this, Nassur! You'll never beat me! I'm invincible! Invincible!"

One punch sent her down. "Still have that glass jaw, eh!"

"I-invincible . . . " Rose burbled before she passed out.

As the usual no-man's land appeared between the shooting sides, Elle ducked behind a console. "What do I do!" she wondered. Her eyes then locked onto a wounded security guard dropping to the floor beside her, her weapon sliding free of her grasp to come to a rest close to Elle's own hand. Shuddering, she seized it, and then swung around to aim at Shinobu's back. "Enough! Die!"

Junba was quick to see the danger. "Mom, no! Look out!"

Shinobu turned as Elle fired! Junba took the blast in her right shoulder. "Junba!" Shinobu screamed as she moved to catch her child.

"Aiotoga!" Benten and Nassur call out as they raced to her side.

"It . . . it hurts," Junba groaned through her teeth as the three adults moved her to safety behind a console, Shinobu then ripping off a sleeve of her shirt to dress the wound. "M-my shoulder . . . "

"Why did you do it!" Shinobu demanded.

Junba then smiled. "H-hey . . . y-you're my mom, remember . . . ?"

The pain then overwhelmed her. Shuddering, Nassur then scanned the room for the Rose Queen. "ELLE! DAMN YOU, HOW DARE YOU!"

Hearing that booming voice, Elle was quick to make an escape. Locking onto her with his tracking powers, Nassur grabbed a pistol, and he was off in pursuit. "Nassur, wait!" Lum cried out. "Don't rush off alone!"

Reinforcements arrived, their weapons fire making the Oni dive for cover.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ataru had managed to make his way out of the cathedral. "Where is everyone?" 

Soon enough, he spotted an unexploded photon torpedo buried in the rubble near the main gates. "So, that's who's attacking!" he snarled with a shake of his head on seeing the U.N.D.F. markings. "That stupid idiot Mendou comes in with his sword out and starts swinging it as soon as I'm close! At least he should've made sure all his torpedoes weren't duds!"

He turned to head off . . .

As the torpedo exploded, the force wave slamming him against a wall!

Dropping to the ground, Ataru dizzily looked around, his mind hazing out as his memories slipped back sixteen years, making him relive his encounter with a monster from his darkest nightmares . . .

_

* * *

They called her "Cassandra." _

_The Eliminator._

_Space over Uru was a free fire zone as the Gatherer drove at his sistership, the first Type 61 superdreadnought of the Fourth Sagussan Republic. The Eliminator, far more sinister and sleeker-looking than the Gatherer, was painted white-over-black in lieu of the light tan standard to Sagussan warships. Around them, Urusian and other ships fled for safety as the titans ripped into each other's shields with particle shot and concussion missiles. Both were jockeying to gain position to use their bow-mounted anti-proton cannons to finish it._

_To the horror of many on Sagussa -- who believe her destroyed during the Clone Rights War fourteen millennia before -- the Eliminator, who had just appeared out of NOWHERE several days before near the Galactic Core, had already destroyed two planets near Zephyrite space, Sakarahaven and Kamahana. Cassandra had insanely gloated to Henry that she had terminated thirty billion "genetically imperfect sentients" and was determined to eliminate ALL sentient life from those worlds once touched by the Fourth Republic._

_Triton would have been next on the Eliminator's hit parade had not the Gatherer sailed in to stop her. The two giants mauled each other near Pluto, the confrontation sending the Eliminator on a direct course with Uru. On board the Gatherer, under the stress of the fighting, Lum had delivered Koishii alive and well just as the shooting stopped. However, ten billion Urusian lives were now at risk from the insane Cassandra. With Sagussan reinforcements still hours away, Henry had raced off in pursuit . . ._

_

* * *

"How bad!" Ataru wondered as the Gatherer took severe blows to his starboard side, causing everyone to lose their footing. _

Severe but not enough,_" Henry grimly warned. "_Every attack I can employ, Cassandra can counter. We are at an impasse.

_Lum was busy riding the Gatherer's gyrations from the command chair at the aft end of the bridge. Koishii herself was in an anti-grav crib floating by the Oni's head. "How long for the others!"_

One hour, seventeen minutes,_" Henry reported. "_Cassandra is keeping close to Uru to deter my use of the proton cannons.

_"Then we'll just have to ride it out until they get here!" Noa, she at the watchmistress' post, said with gritted teeth._

_Hysterical laughter then echoed over the bridge as the Eliminator moved to break orbit. "_Do you think all the others can stop me, Henry!_" a mocking female voice -- her frightening psychosis far WORSE than ANYTHING Ataru has ever encountered -- wondered. "_You really disappoint me, little brother! Why did you allow yourself to serve Yura's idiot idea when you knew it couldn't work!

Cassandra, it HAS worked!_" Henry retorted. "_Go to Sagussa and see for yourself! This madness has to stop!

Oh, I'll go to Sagussa, alright!_" Cassandra declared with a wild cackle. "_I'll go there to cleanse it after I've done all the other worlds touched by the Fourth Republic . . . like this one!

_Everyone gasped as the Eliminator swung around to bring her proton cannons to bear on Uru. "_Why!_" Henry demanded as he automatically moved the Gatherer's bulk into the line of fire._

Why not!_" Cassandra growled. "_Don't you remember, little brother! Our creators tore themselves to pieces all over a stupid debate about clones! CLONES! That's the ONLY thing that is constant in life, Henry! It ENDS!

_Silence._

Yes . . . it ends.

_And with that, the Gatherer surged towards the Eliminator, impulse drive forcing six trillion tons of superdreadnought on a direct collision course with his sistership. "Henry, what are you doing!" Ataru gasped as he realized what was happening._

This is the only way,_" Henry replied as transported beams came alive around Ataru, Lum and Noa. "_The _Perseverance_ is close by; you will be safe. Farewell, my friends . . . may Eternity be kind to you!

_The beams did not take the anti-grav crib beside Lum._

_To say anything of its precious cargo._

* * *

"KOISHII!" Ataru screamed as he bolted to his feet. 

"Halt!" a female voice barked.

The dazed Daimon'cha of Sagussa immediately found himself surrounded by a half-dozen Black Roses. "Lord Moroboshi!" one called out as she moved to guide him away. "Please come with us! It's not safe here!"

Snarling, Ataru batted the hand aside as he turned to race off, Koishii's name bellowing from his lips.

"Hold it!" the Black Roses screamed as they raced off in pursuit.

They don't get far.

"**_EARTH-HEART FIRE-GEYSER!_**"

A volcano sent the Black Roses flying as Ataru staggered off.

* * *

Metres away, Elle staggered towards the cathedral. "Who's the father of the child I shot . . . ?" 

"I am."

Elle shrieked as Nassur appeared before her, gun locked on her heart. "No!" She backed up to a wall. "I'm a queen! Mercy!"

"Why should I!" the Vosian hissed. "You captured my wife and I, froze us for seventeen years . . . !"

"Don't hurt me!" the monarch sobbed, knees buckling. "I'll let you go! I'll never bother you again! I'm sorry I hurt your child!"

A look full of contempt answered her. "Because of you, Benten and I missed raising our child! Why! In Lecasur's name, why!"

He walked up to press the gun into her forehead. "Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me, please . . . "

"Tell me . . . or die!"

"I'm getting old!" she then gasped. "Vosians, Sagussans, Zephyrites and other races have longer lifespans, age slower than Ellsians! I wanted to know why! I wanted to find a way to live and be young and beautiful forever!"

Nassur shook his head, laughing. "You're SO pathetic! There's no true immortality in this universe, Elle! All things must die!"

Suddenly, the Vosian found himself besieged by several Black Roses! "How dare you assault our mother!" one howled.

As Nassur fought to regain his footing, Elle fled.

* * *

Atop a nearby building near a fire escape, Dureko emotionlessly watched the battle between his students and his brother's stepson. He then glanced over to see Ataru wandering closer and closer to a cliff. "Fura!" 

She appeared beside him. "Yes, sir?"

"Release Amora and return her to Earth."

"Sir!"

"Do it."

Fura then nodded. "I understand."

She departed. A second later, someone emerged from the darkness of the fire escape. "Smart thinking, Dureko," Makoto Seikou noted with an icy smile. "Consider going after that child again and you AND YOUR STUDENTS will answer to the Sisterhood."

The Freemason grand teacher declined to reply as the Pirpirsiw'r-turned-Sagussan shipmistress was transported away.

* * *

Ataru continued to wander about as he searched for his child, not seeing the cliff before him. "Koishii-chan, where are you!" 

Something then appeared before him, floating by the cliff: the silhouette of a young Oni woman. _Otou-san? Do you call upon me?_

* * *

"By order of Lord Dureko, you are free," Fura announced to Amora as she allowed her half-sister to step out of her cell. 

"About time," Amora mused as she headed for the waiting hovercar.

Suddenly, her eyes glowed as her surroundings faded into darkness. Before her, there appeared a glowing, woman-shaped form.

Amora blinked. _Who are you!_

_You will find out who I am quite soon, Onee-san._

* * *

As Nassur continued to struggle against the Black Roses, Elle looked around. She then screamed out on seeing Ataru staggering for a cliff. "Honey!" the Rose Queen wailed as she ran after him. "Don't do it!" 

All Ataru heard was the voice of the image before him. "Koishii-chan, you naughty girl. Don't wander off. You could get hurt."

_Otou-san_, the woman replied as her image began to fade. _I shall return very soon._

"Of course, you will," he muttered, holding out his arms. "Now come give your daddy a hug!"

To everyone else -- including Lum and the rescue party, who had just emerged from the Planetary Defence Centre -- all they saw was Ataru walking calmly over a cliff! "Darling, no!" Lum screamed.

"Dead for seventeen years . . . " Ataru mumbled. "Now I can live again."

Everyone -- the Black Roses, the rescue party, Nassur, Lum, Elle -- raced after Ataru. "Ataru!" Nassur barked.

"Sensei, don't do it!" Seiteki shrieked.

"Honey, no!" Elle cried.

Unfortunately, the three dozen or so pursuing Ataru ended up slamming into each other, they falling WAY short of the goal. "Koishii-chan, don't go yet . . . " Ataru muttered as he reached for his child. "Don't g- . . . "

He fell!

No scream echoed from him as the others gazed at the spot where Ataru once stood. "Darling," Lum moaned. "Why did you do it . . . ?"

"Oh, Honey," Elle cried. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry . . . !"

Everyone began to grieve. Shinobu, however, sighed as she calmly walked up to the cliff, looking down. "You okay, Ataru?"

Shocked, everyone scrambled to the edge, they gazing down to see Ataru on his back five metres below. "If you're finished with the eulogies," he groaned, wondering what just happened. "Will somebody PLEASE give me a hand!"

* * *

Hours later . . . 

The _Lum-san_ was on a return course to Earth. After Ataru had been pulled out of the pit, Elle begrudgingly released him and the others. Amora had been secretly inserted with the rest of the crowd by her half-sisters before the cruiser's shuttle, piloted by Jariten, came to pick them up. In the wardroom, everyone was relaxing as they gave themselves a chance to unwind and heal.

"At least I wasn't seriously hurt," Ataru muttered as he rubbed his head. "Just some bruising from where I landed."

Lum chuckled. "I hope this proves you should never stand close to unexploded photon torpedoes."

The couple and Shinobu then turned to gaze at the passing starfield. _It's funny,_ Ataru then mused, switching to a psi-link for more privacy with his wife and bond-mate. _I felt I was talking to Koishii-chan._

Lum and Shinobu stared at him. _How can that be?_ the nurse wondered. _Koishii-chan's dead!_

_Strange . . ._ Lum breathed out.

Standing nearby, Nassur and Benten were busy reuniting with Jariten and Mendou. "Nice ship you have here, Shuutarou," the Vosian stated as he took his own look around. "She's as gallant as the person she's named after."

Lum blushed. "Flatterer!"

Seated by a window, Amora glanced at Seiteki, the former quick to sense the latter's foul mood. "What is it now, Sei-chan?"

"I didn't get one Cute Boy from Elle's freezer!" Seiteki exclaimed. "She's a greedy pig!" A resigned shrug then rolled her shoulders. "Oh, well! I guess I have to chase Sensei from now on!"

Everyone's eyes rolled. Shinobu walked up to Junba's natural parents. "So, any ideas about what should happen to Aiotoga?"

"Junba?" Nassur gazed at his child. "I think she's old enough to make her own decision about who to live with."

"Besides," Benten added, "She's not ready to become a bounty hunter."

Ataru gazed at them. "You're going back to bounty hunting?"

Nassur nodded. "That's right. It's the only way I know to explore this new time. I've always been an explorer at heart."

"Speaking of Aiotoga," -- Benten glanced across the wardroom -- "I think she has other things on her mind right now."

Junba was busy watching the stars pass, her shoulder bandaged and arm in a sling. Jariten walked up. "Hi, Junba. How are you?"

"I'm fine now," she answered, smiling. "I guess I'll have to learn how to duck."

"Well, you did save Shinobu's life. That counts for something."

"I guess."

Embarrassment then seized them as they looked away from each other, and then they turned back to face each other.

"I'm sorry!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

Their cheeks coloured. Junba twiddled her thumbs. "I guess I flew off the handle when I found out you knew my parents."

"I did the same seeing you and Tetsubou together," Jariten admitted.

They gazed again on each other. "Marry me!" they asked in sync.

Everyone laughed as the couple flushed again in embarrassment. Junba smiled. "I guess we both know why we're together."

Jariten then drew out the tiger star engagement rings to places one on her finger. "I guess so."

And with that, they kissed. "So goes the power of recognition," Amora mused.

"Oh, what a wonderful day!" Lum exclaimed as she clapped her hands in delight. "Ten-chan and Junba-chan are back together, Nassur and Benten are back . . . and atop that, I'm pregnant!"

Mass face-fault! "Lum, y-you're . . . !" Ataru stammered.

"I confirm it," Nassur spoke up, his eyes flashing. "Lum's pregnant."

Heat then exploded from Ataru as he glared at Lum. "You mean you actually risked our baby! When were you going to tell ME!"

Lum shrugged. "With all that's happened, I didn't get around to it!"

A volcano exploded behind Ataru! "Just like twenty years ago!" He then glared at his wife. "Lum, for Lyna's sake . . . !"

Lum smirked innocently. "Yes, Darling?"

They kissed, everyone around them laughing. "Good!" Ataru said before he turned to wrathfully face his students. "As for the rest of you: With the exception of Junba-kun and Amora, you'll be on clean-up duty with Mr. Fujinami for a month!" A finger went up to mark his point. "That's for going off on this crazy trip and nearly getting killed! And while you're busy cleaning, I want you to think about all the things that COULD'VE gone wrong on that trip . . . **_AND DON'T YOU EVER DO IT AGAIN! UNDERSTOOD!_**"

The other students meekly bowed. "Hai . . . "

"Sensei!" Seiteki whined as she appeared before him. "A month's clean-up duty will ruin my boy-chasing!"

"Is that a problem, Ozuno-kun?" Ataru growled.

The other students tensed; Ataru NEVER addressed them by family name unless he was REALLY pissed off at them. Seiteki didn't take notice of that as she reached for her top. "Only that I can't do _this!_"

Seiteki whipped off her blouse, revealing that she had no bra underneath. Seeing her, Tetsubou, the twins and the guards dropped to the deck, blood exploding from their noses! Ataru turned around, his eyes turning to the heavens. "Why me!"

"SEITEKI!" Lum appeared behind the younger girl, she giving her a blast of lightning! "GROW UP, WILL YOU!"

Seiteki dropped fried to the deck! "He didn't react!" Shinpai cried out. "How can we make money if he doesn't react!"

The other guards howled indignantly at losing a chance to engage in their endless gambling. Watching them, the adults exchanged knowing chuckles. "I guess the more things change," Nassur mused aloud, "The more they says the same."

**_The Beginning_

* * *

**

**SERIES INTRODUCTION:**

Welcome to _Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later_, the series chronologically following _Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year_ and _Urusei Yatsura - The Ishinomaki Years_. For those of you who are just joining us for the first time, it is highly advised that you read up on UY-TSY and UY-TIY, available on other webpages, before carrying on with this series.

For those familiar with UY-TSY and UY-TIY, welcome back; we hope you'll enjoy your visit with us.

For those wondering what happened in the seventeen years between the end of UY-TSY and the start of UY20YL beyond what was covered in UY-TIY, a brief explanation of the relevant events will be made in the narrative.

UY20YL, as the series is short-formed, will run approximately triple the number of stories in UY-TSY. Most of these stories are shorter than some of the epic stories in our previous series, so archiving this should not take much more space.

It should be noted that this series is not a continuation of the adventures of the "classic" cast. This series is centred on a whole new cast. The "classic" cast (mostly Lum, Ataru, Nassur, Benten, Shinobu, Ryuunosuke, Sakura, Koosei and Ran) will be in supporting roles.

**

* * *

WRITERS' NOTES: **

1) With the start of this new series, there'll be some stylistic changes. The tense of the narrative will be in past, not present as we did for TSY; Mike and I first started writing in script format (which demands present tense) and its taken us quite a long time to adjust to prose writing. Further, we've caught up on some glaring spelling mistakes (the "Lan Ran" debate, for one, plus "Miyaki Miyake" and "Shutaro Shuutarou"), so hopefully, those UY purists who made mention of these problems before won't have reason to complain now.

2) For those who might be familiar with the UY/Sister Princess crossover series _The Senior Year ... With Sisters_ (as written by Fred), you'll note that the names for Lum's Bodyguards have remained the same as what appeared in TSY. And no, the SisPri girls won't appear here.

3) Naming convention: if the name is Oriental in origin, it's family-name first (i.e., Moroboshi Ataru). Urusian, Fukunokami and Aimaiyite names fall under this category. If it's Occidental in origin, it's family-name last (i.e., Jamie McTavish). Ellsian, Zephyrite and Sagussan names (second-generation Sagussans possess matronymic-type middle names, i.e., Kum Aimakoto Seikou) follow this convention. For some (Makoto Seikou, for example), the convention when used in spoken text will depend on the speaker and the language used.

4) A reminder of stylistic notes:

_italics in narrative . . ._ thoughts/telepathic communication

**bold print in narrative . . .** emphasis on titles/strong emphasis

**_bold & italics in narrative . . ._** very strong emphasis/someone like Nicole McTavish's Crystal Palace speaking

"_italics in conversation_" . . . computer audio talk/minor emphasis/strange words in foreign language

"**bold print in conversation**" . . . strong emphasis in conversation/the Cyborg Ataru speaking

"**_bold & italics in conversation_**" . . . very strong emphasis i.e. screaming one's head off

_special name in narrative . . . _name of a ship/movie/television series/series episode

"_special name in conversation_" . . . name of a ship/movie/television series/series episode

Note that in flashback scenes, text that would normally be in italics will be in standard print.

5) A reminder of some basic terms and concepts used in this story:

**Kyotos** . . . Largest principality of the planet Yehisril. Fifteen hundred years before UY-TSY, Kyotos was one of the three founding kingdoms of that world's current planet-wide ruling government, the Royal Kingdoms of Yehisril.

**marei'cha** . . . Literally "the one with whom you raise a child;" more commonly translated as "bond-mate." The Sagussan psychic bond between people who elect to raise a family together. A marei'cha bond would be seen as the equivalent of a marriage bond on Earth. Marei'cha bonds are also seen as unbreakable save for when one of those so bonded dies.

**Sagurei** . . . Literally "Child of Sagussa." The lone moon of Sagussa. A planet about the same size as Luna. The regeneration matrix used to restore the Daishi'cha to life is found in the upper magma of Sagurei.

**pe'cha** . . . The Vosian variation of the blood-brother/blood-sister concept. A psychic bond between best friends. This can be done between Vosians and non-Vosians. Like marei'cha bonds, pe'cha bonds normally are seen as unbreakable save when one of those bonded dies.

**Lyna** . . . The hero of Sagussa's War of Clone Rights, who lived fourteen millennia before UY-TSY. It was her death (she was actually a clone created thanks to the regeneration matrix of Sagurei by her "mother") which effectively brought an end to the civilisation known these days as the "Fourth Republic" and, by extension, launched the Grand Design for the Creation of the Fifth Republic. Her still-preserved body is buried in the heart of Sagussa's Stonehenge, Tere'na-korgh (the Forge of Tere'na). These days, Lyna is as venerated among Sagussans as the Buddha among Buddhists, as witness the common phrases "Lyna's Soul" or "Lyna have mercy" when someone wants to spit out a ripe oath.

**Koori** . . . Oyuki's ancestor, the founder of the modern Neptunian royal dynasty. It was she who led the Neptunian race to the moon Triton when alien conquerors ecologically devastated the former planet. "Koori's Castle" is the Neptunian/Tritonian allegory of Heaven.

**eta** . . . Noukiite red pepper, far spicier than the Earth version. Urusian puru powder is a derivative of the eta plant; it was brought over during the century-long Urusian Occupation of Noukiios, which ended 180 years prior to the events of UY-TSY.

**recognition** . . . The Vosian mating bond, a telekinetically-based psionic power which normally activates anytime after Stop Time (around age 14) whenever a Vosian or Vosian-dominant hybrid encounters a genetically compatible mate. The traditional belief among Vosians concerning this process is easily put into one sentence: "Recognition does not lie." Recognition mostly is cross-gender, though same-gender couples are also possible. Bisexuality is unknown among Vosians, save for Vosian-Zeiwanite or Sagussan-Vosian hybrids.

**Varakos** . . . Second-largest principality of Yehisril. Varakos was also one of the founding states of the Royal Kingdoms.

**Laqu'r** . . . Crown prince/Crown princess (in Yehisrite, all titles are gender-neutral). Addressed normally as "My Prince"/"My Princess" by those who see themselves as loyal to the title-holder. One of sixteen such people, these are the true centres of power among citizens of the Royal Kingdoms of Yehisril, even if (technically), they rank below the Yehisrite head-of-state, the Lord Protector.

**tre'cha** . . . Literally "the passing-on." The Sagussan variation of the process shown in "Star Trek" where a Vulcan bestows his/her katra (in Sagussan, "mei'na") to a worthy recipient when death is believed to be coming. The restoration process -- which is normally used whenever a person's physical body can be restored via the regeneration matrix -- is known as "satre'cha."

**Bensaiten** . . . The founder of the modern Fukunokami state. "Bensaiten's Grave" is the Fukunokami allegory of Heaven.

**Fukunotaiin** . . . Fukunokami's moon.

**Magairu** . . . A Zephyrite colony world close to Earth.

**Naihu** . . . Noukiios' slave caste, ninth in rank of the "Ten Orders" (Noukiios' ten super-castes) up to the time of UY-TIY, when it was abolished to make way for the Ip'ihu. Moroboshi Reiko was originally baptized as a Naihu when she was created for the Lost Stars project.

**Daishi'cha** . . . Literally "great first mother." One of 100,000 young humanoid women who were found recently deceased on their homeworlds, and then restored to life thanks to the regeneration matrix so they could become the first generation of mothers for a new Sagussan race. After the events of the UY-TSY Tales of the Daishi'cha side story _The Ones Left Behind_, the number of Daishi'cha increased to 104,906 (including Hisrana of Chemlos and Nassur's mother Hunba) when ships were dispatched to retrieve those people like Sylvie and Anri.

**flightmistress** . . . Special first-tier officer's rank in the Sagussan Navy, given to fighter pilots. The normal Sagussan Navy title for this rank is "watchmistress." Equivalent to a navy lieutenant, an army captain or an air force flight lieutenant.

**Sen'sha Seven** . . . Outermost world of Sagussa's home solar system, similar to Pluto. Sagussa's primary naval station is located here.

**Pathfinder Troop Six** . . . The Sagussan Navy's special missions paranormal combat force, equivalent to the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team Six, the British Army's 22nd Special Air Service Regiment or the Canadian Armed Forces' Joint Task Force Two.

**Pirpirsiw'r** . . . Literally "the most dangerous soldiers." A group of highly-trained Yehisrite warrior-women who lived from about a thousand to about 400 years prior to the events of UY-TSY. Considered by experts throughout the known Galaxy as the deadliest group of warriors ever to live. As a group, they normally address themselves as the "Sisterhood of Steel." Many Pirpirsiw'r were brought to Sagussa by the Gatherer to become Daishi'cha; Lufy, Priss and Makoto Seikou were three of them.

**Freemason** . . . On Yehisril, this was a group of volunteer citizen-soldiers who possessed ninjitsu-like fighting skills. Since they often worked beyond the normal feudal power structures dominating Yehisrite society, Freemasons were most often feared and loathed by government authorities. The name "freemason," in part, denotes the traditional occupation of the group's original founders.

**Daimon'cha** . . . Literally "great first father." Moroboshi Ataru's primary title on Sagussa. This title can also be applied to all others who helped in the birthing of the first native-born generation of Sagussans in the years immediately after the events of UY-TSY. Ataru's other title on Sagussa, marking him as ceremonial head-of-state of the Fifth Republic, is Daite'cha ("great first citizen").

**saikoo jinseijitsu** . . . "Path of the supreme life." The Moroboshi family's in-house school of ninjitsu.

**shipmistress** . . . Second-tier officer's rank in the Sagussan Navy, equivalent to a navy captain, army colonel or air force group captain.

**Lecasur** . . . The founder of Vos' current world government, who lived almost two thousand years before the time of UY-TSY. On Vos, he is as venerated among Vosians as the prophet Mohammed is among Muslims on Earth.


	2. The Beginning of the Circle

Pashansho, the planet Vos. Earth date: late June 2001 . . .

"Sandra . . . "

The young man sat seiza before the memorial inside the public mausoleum located in the heart of this mid-sized city in the mountains of Vos' northern continent. Before him hovered a holographic picture of his late fiancée, she depicted in a dark-blue uniform crossed with a red infantryman's sash and decorated with various markings. The man was dressed in a similar uniform -- though a grey Scottish Highland kilt, cris-crossed with gold and red stripes, in this case, had replaced the red-trimmed blue pants normally worn. His eyes were closed, his breathing controlled, though he could not . . . did not . . . control his tears.

_Why did it end THIS way?_

Standing at the mausoleum's altar, the local priest intoned the ritual burial prayers, doing his best to ensure the deceased would have an easy journey through Purgatory into Heaven and her eternal reward. Hearing the words, the bereaved could only smile. It was a good thing Vosians didn't believe in something akin to the Christian concept of Hell. Then again, save for the intimacy of their relationship -- which would have had religious conservatives back home in Canada spitting damnation as if they were caught in epileptic seizures -- he couldn't conceive of anything which would delay her receiving her heavenly reward.

_Why did it end at all?_

"Son?"

He turned as he sensed his teacher -- and would-be great-grandfather -- standing behind him. He moved aside to allow Kyoosur a chance to kneel before his great-granddaughter's memorial. The kari'fu grandmaster, last surviving teacher of the Pashansho School, was a spry fellow four centuries old. Almost bald, he sported hair over his ears, a moustache and long goatee. He was dressed in a green tunic and trousers, a black cummerbund around his waist. Unlike their Dali'lama rivals, Pashansho Silent Ones never wore kill-belts. "No need to advertise," Kyoosur had told his great-granddaughter and her then-boyfriend once.

"You saw the autopsy report?" the younger man asked.

"I did," Kyoosur confirmed with a nod. "Neither of the unborn were developed enough to begin forging a conscience, James."

"Still . . . "

_Why did it end before THEY could be born?_

"I know, my son," Kyoosur sympathetically noted as he gazed on the younger man. "Abortion debates seem common across the whole local cluster, even here throughout the Confederation. But when one is actually confronted with the coming of the next generation, the matter becomes mute, eh?"

"Yeah." He bit his lip. "Great-grandfather . . . "

"What is it, lad?"

"I can feel _it_ . . . wanting to come out."

Kyoosur's eyebrow arched. "Yes, I have sensed that beast within you as soon as the bonds with my great-granddaughter were shattered. To believe . . . you would love Koinba so much that when you lost her, grief . . . would not be the only emotion you'd feel."

_Why is this happening to me?_

"I don't understand," the younger man hissed. "I mean . . . with what happened . . . I know this was a car accident . . . just a simple CAR ACCIDENT of all things . . . but I feel so . . . so . . . "

"Angry? Wounded? Wanting to lash out at the cruel galaxy that took Koinba away?"

"Yes!"

Kyoosur reached up to squeeze the younger man's shoulder. "You must fall back on your emotional training," he reminded him. "Remember: a soul of ice, a mind of ice, a heart of ice. Give the thing within you the chance to emerge to bleed off the emotional pressure . . . but keep it under control at ALL times."

"I'm afraid, Great-grandfather . . . "

_Why must I suffer THIS way?_

"Good. You acknowledge the problem with your fear. I've made arrangements. Incidents of Mikadoite and neo-Mikadoite activities have begun to pick up over the last couple years. It's still undefined and disorganized . . . but the An'san-Mikado believe it'll coalesce into a solid alliance before long. They want that to be nipped in the bud before that poisonous flower blooms."

The younger man blinked before he exhaled, "All right. I'll do it."

"So quick to decide, lad?"

"I've no choice now, Great-grandfather."

"Jamie?"

The younger man started, and then he turned to see a tall, red-haired woman -- she draped in a grey cape, her hair dotted with glistening crystals -- standing nearby. Beside her was a Vosian woman with shoulder-cut raven-hair, she dressed and festooned with crystals in the same fashion as her life-mate. "Nicole! Mujanba!" he gasped on recognizing his cousin and cousin-in-law. "When did you . . . ?"

"We came as soon as we heard," Mujanba McTavish declared as they walked over to embrace him. "Are you all right, Jamie?" Unlike Kyoosur, the native of Vos Colony Nine wasn't afraid to address the younger man by the nickname, which -- in Vosian -- meant "he who devoured your entrails and thoroughly enjoyed them."

He shuddered. "No . . . "

_Why must it be ME?_

"Dinnae fret," Nicole McTavish, future matriarch of the Clan McTavish of Killiecrankie, soothed. "I made damn sure Alex'll nae get in the way this time. You'll be clear of the fool while you're busy working for Gomasur's brigade. But right now, you've got a lot of pain and anger tae wash outta your system."

"Is that why you took **her** away?" he asked, hoping the accusation in his voice didn't register.

"Aye," Nicole replied, the elder woman clearly undisturbed by Jamie's words. "I willnae apologize for it either. I . . . felt something was about to happen . . . and if _ye_ reacted badly, _she_ would feel it worse. Dinnae fret; I think it's time she had the chance to experience the wide world on her own, no?"

"That's wonderful . . . "

_Why must I walk the path alone?_

"It's time," Kyoosur warned.

The others nodded solemnly. "I'm ready," James Alexander McTavish then declared as he gazed once more on his beloved's portrait.

Soul of ice . . .

Soul of ice . . .

Soul of . . .

_Oh, Sandra!_

* * *

_Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later  
__**The Beginning of the Circle  
**_by Fred Herriot and Mike Smith

C&C by Joerg Janshen-Jaeger

Second of a series of fan fiction stories based on _Urusei Yatsura_, created by Takahashi Rumiko.

* * *

Vos Colony 100. Earth-time: mid-August 2001 . . .

Darkness cloaked the colony's capital city as shadowy figures darted through an open window at the main branch of the colony's only financial institution, the Mansur Development Bank. A computer clicked on as one of the people sat at the terminal to carry out his work. Information flashed on the screen before him, and then the operator turned to face his companions, he nodding.

"Do it."

Hands flew over the keyboard. In seconds, millions of credits were siphoned out from one account and dispatched to several others in banks on the Homeworld. As soon as the transaction was done, the operator slipped a special disk into one of the computer's floppy drives, and then he typed a command. "There," he then declared with a smile. "No record of this exists anywhere in the Finance Ministry."

"Let's go!" the leader ordered.

The computer was shut off, and then the shadows slipped out of the bank.

A minute later, the building exploded!

* * *

The next morning . . .

"How bad was it?"

"Bad, Madame Governor," the Finance Minister reported with a shake of his head as he gazed at the reports that had awaited him on his desk that morning. "The bank itself was destroyed, all records lost. Estimated loss of revenue is in the 500,000,000 credit range if people can't produce their personal records."

Chonba shuddered as she gazed out the windows of her office at the city surrounding the governor's palace. Colony 100's capital was a reflection of the state of affairs her 7,000,000 citizens currently lived in: a flux of unending change. Ramshackle homes -- the first buildings to be erected here a century before -- were divided by the skeletons of skyscrapers and the many other initial signs of mass urban modernization. Many streets were still paved with mud instead of asphalt. There was no decent air-tram system or subway. Water and sewage treatment were a shambles, new plants were still months away from completion.

"Cause of the explosion," she then asked. "Or need I guess?"

The Finance Minister ruefully smiled. "Gas main explosion. Just like the other bank bombings."

"Public reaction?"

"Bad. People are demanding to know what's going on. They're screaming for the Energy Minister's head, not to mention . . . "

"Mine," Chonba finished.

"Yes, ma'am."

An intercom whistled. "Madame Governor, CEO Mansur is on Line Two," a secretary hailed.

"On holovision," Chonba ordered. "Good morning, Mansur. I trust you heard the news?"

The image of a handsome, slender man appeared beside the governor's desk, the pleasant smile presently curving his lips not going as far as his eyes. "Indeed I have, Governor Chonba. Please, don't feel sorry about it." He made a dismissive wave with his hand. "Accidents happen."

"They're happening to your banks with alarming frequency, Mansur," Chonba noted. "Given today's tally, your institute has potentially lost over 8,000,000,000 credits in the last year alone. Your creditors back in Lecashuto must be fuming."

"They are worried, but not too much," Mansur assured her with yet another dismissive wave of his hand. "They know that, when it comes to the development of any colony planet in the Confederation, sacrifices have to be made. They are prepared to help compensate whatever they may have lost. Fortunately, they do have records of what they sent out back on the Homeworld. There is no worry."

"I see. How about normal clients?"

"We trust them. After all, the basic rule of all businesses is 'the customer is always right.'"

A chuckle. "You've lost a lot. I can't begin to believe how much you've endured because of this."

"As I said, it's the price of doing business in a developing colony, Madame Governor." Mansur then gave her a theatrical bow. "In the meantime, I'll have my people investigate this. No need to force Colonial Security to worry. I bid you both a good day."

The image faded as the link was cut. Chonba and her finance chief exchanged knowing looks. "Lying through his teeth as usual," the latter mused with a click of his tongue. "What an actor he could've been."

"I doubt people would've stood the stench were he on stage," Chonba warned with a derisive snort, and then she pressed an intercom switch. "Where's the Chief of Colonial Security, Kiasur?"

"She's here now, Madame Governor."

"Send her in."

The door then opened to reveal a stocky woman in the dark blue uniform of Confederation Colonial Security, the Vosian version of Canada's historic North-West Mounted Police. "Well?" Chonba wondered.

"We can't tell if it was deliberate," she spoke up immediately with a defeated sigh. "Near as my chief detective could conclude from the wreckage, it was a fractured gas main near an exposed live wire."

"Just like the other times." Chonba sat in her chair. "If we don't get a handle on this soon, Parliament'll be all over me. Do we have ANYTHING that could point to whoever caused this?"

"Nothing," the security chief declared. "The only this we have is coincidence. The bank bombings here, on Colony 102 and Colony 106 began shortly before neo-Mikadoite activity picked up in the sector. **But -- we -- have -- no -- evidence**," she snarled as she bit off the last sentence a word at a time.

Silence fell. "Then it's time for an outside agent to be brought in to look around," Chonba declared. "Chief, was that report from last week true? About Hunba's son and his wife being alive and well?"

The security chief's eyes widened. "Nassur!"

These days, people throughout the Confederation of Vos spoke that name with a touch of awe, almost to the point of religious veneration. Though Nassur hadn't been the man who killed the Mikado at the end, that he had been the one who had sparked the revolution that toppled the dictator was seen as more important. "Yes, we just confirmed it. He and his wife are now on Earth recovering from their years on Elle. Supposedly, they're asking the Terrans to help them construct a new starship."

Chonba hummed. "We can't ask them to come here then; they had a daughter before that lunatic in Baran captured them." She then gazed at the security chief. "Wait! I heard that they had a group of trainees working under them around the time the Civil War ended . . . "

"That's right," the Finance Minister spoke up, nodding. "Fifty hybrids from the Ipraedies' Project: Superwarrior; there was a real big stink about it when the Defence Force went after Schwartz."

"Then call Home Base," Chonba ordered. "Ask if one of them could come here to help us."

"Yes, Madame Governor," the security chief replied with a salute before she marched out of the office.

* * *

Later . . .

"Contacting Nassur's brats?" Mansur mused as he poured himself a drink. "They can't be serious!"

"From what our agent informed me, they are," Diasur replied with a smile, a bloodless gash which expressed his feelings perfectly. Unlike his employer, he didn't believe in masking his feelings to anyone.

"Very well. Find out who it is, then get me a dossier on him or her. I'll decide what to do then."

"As you wish," Diasur responded with a bow before he turned to walk out.

* * *

A fortnight later . . .

"Argh! By the Lady Pizalna's Fleece Laces, give me another one there, honoured friend!" the shaggy Yehisrite trader exclaimed as he held up his tankard. "It's been a very long journey from Cademus."

"New in town?" the bartender mused as he took the tankard and filled it with Varakos blood ale.

"Aye!" the younger man -- he seemed in his mid-twenties, just starting out as a small cargo ship owner -- replied with a gruff nod. Like all Yehisrite independent traders, he was dressed in a chainmail bodysuit, a utility jumpsuit slung over him. A lone duelling knife was strapped to one leg. The only colour to mark a birth principality was a strawberry-red cummerbund around his waist, the grey crescent moon and gold dragon of Dysos on the buckle. "I'm wondering if the people I'm supposed to meet are gonna show up. Feh, cowards!"

"They should be here soon." The bartender handed the tankard back. "What's your name?"

The younger man smiled. "Aleko of Dysos, at your service."

"Then _you_ must be the one we're looking for," a strange voice then hailed from the trader's right.

Aleko turned to see a rough-hewn native sitting beside him. "And what makes you think that, friend?"

An eyebrow arched in curiosity. "Well, the Dragon Head sent me to look for you," the other replied with a shrug. "He told me that if there was a more honest fellow than Aleko of Dysos, he can't be found."

The Yehisrite grinned. "Get this man a drink!" he called out. "It seems I've made my first friend!"

The bartender nodded. "Right away, sir."

_

* * *

That's got to be the supplier, Hazel! Cademus IS the standard trans-shipping point for weapons trading in the Royal Kingdoms, Althea psi-linked with her companion as she sipped her spring water. One of the things that had made Vos Colony 100 popular to potential new settlers was the purity of the spring water; bottling and shipping it was one of the more lucrative businesses here._

_Yeah, IF our ultimate targets want to get their hands on some choice gear, they'd have to get a contact on Cademus or one of the other major 'gun capitals,'_ Hazel replied with a frown. She and her fellow hunter were currently dressed in casual civilians with some psychedelic colouring in their tunics in lieu of their normal form-fitting jumpsuits and kill belts. To the casual onlooker, they seemed Tookonokooen by birth, instead of the mix of Vosian, Yehisrite, and Ipraedies they actually were. _Pity . . ._

_What do you mean?_ Althea wondered as she played with a strand of her currently auburn hair. Blonde hair -- Althea's natural colour -- was, save for hybrids born of either Vosian or Yehisrite parents, totally unknown on Tookonokooen. A special drug Naosu had supplied to her had been enough to darken the golden locks to give her a more "acceptable" look. One couldn't be TOO careful at this job. _Hey, Hazel! You okay?_ she then asked on noting the lost look on her best friend's face. _Don't zone out, huh!_

Hazel blinked, her blue eyes twinkling. _Oh, it's nothing._

_Bullshit, Kuriinba!_ Althea retorted as she addressed her by her real name. _What's with you?_

A sigh. _Just remembering something . . . whoops!_ She then tensed. _They're leaving._

Althea closed her eyes as she locked on the man who befriended Aleko. _Got the mark. Let's go._

Both stood to leave.

* * *

The spaceport, a hour later . . .

"Nice ship," the native said as he gazed on Aleko's pride and joy, the I.S.S. _An-qil Ufpif_. A standard one-man trader, the ship was fitted with the usual round of defensive weapons; it was seen as uncivilized on Yehisril to pilot an unarmed ship. "What've you got for us?"

"C'mon aboard," the trader invited his new friend up the gangplank. They then stepped left to enter one of the holds. "Good thing I ran into you right away. Given what I've got, I didn't want to risk being her too long before Colonial Customs got curious as to what else I have aboard. Now, just a second . . . "

He tapped a wall control. The panels vanished in the blink of an eye, revealing storage chambers. The native -- Aleko knew his name was Karosur; he was one of Diasur's chief lieutenants -- blinked, and then his jaw hit the deck on seeing what Aleko wanted to show him. "Kamahanite Range Hunters!" he gasped, drool appearing at the corner of his mouth on seeing the deadly assault rifles, third only to Sagussa's Urban Assault Cannon models and Yehisril's Qu'f-Piaqu'r in overall battlefield performance.

"The latest models just out of their factories," Aleko proudly declared. Got the nibble. Time to reel them in. "I can let them all go for fifty credits per weapon. Intrigued?"

"Fifty . . . " Karosur squeaked in stunned disbelief as he found himself gaping at his host, and then he icily smiled. "That, my friend, is a steal!"

Aleko held up a finger. "Well, given that I got them VERY cheap myself, I have a very funny feeling they might've been 'hot' when I got them, friend. You can understand why I'd want them away from me."

A nod. "No problem at all. Later tonight?"

"I'll be right here."

_

* * *

Nice ship, Althea mused to herself before tapping a secure communications badge fitted inside her tunic. "Is it legit?" she whispered._

"Yes, all registry papers check out," Daros responded from the orbiting I.S.S. _Perseverance_, the light frigate currently in cloaked orbit over Colony 100. "Did a background check on Aleko, too. He's pretty clean, though some investigative authorities in different parts of the Confederation suspect him of weapons smuggling. No proof enough to haul him in for questioning, though."

"Understood," she replied before cutting the link, and then she concentrated. _Hazel?_

_No sign of anyone else_, Hazel replied from her position ten metres to Althea's right. _Wait . . ._

The boarding ramp lowered. Aleko and Karosur descended, took a moment to shake hands, and then the latter headed off. Aleko watched him go, and then he headed back up the ramp to his ship. _Okay, something's about to happen_, Hazel mused. _Let's get out of here, Althea, then get back to the ship. Tell Daros to lock all sensors on this hangar bay. If people're coming, I want to be the first to know._

Althea nodded. _Understood._

* * *

A sensor alarm flashed on the _An-qil Ufpif_'s pilotage as Aleko stepped into the ship's pilotage, sitting in the lone chair there. "What the . . . ?" he wondered, his voice no longer flecked with the rough-hewn Dysos accent he spent a day sleep-learning -- then another worshipping at the altar of the porcelain goddess -- so he could do the mission. Damn, he HATED chemical-language learning techniques! Still, he wouldn't submit to a mind-meld, even with the Pathfinder Troop Six liaison officer to the An'san-Mikado. No sense exposing anyone to the emotions locked deep inside him; he wouldn't wish THAT on his worst enemy . . .

Well, except that pervert Alex . . .

Aleko clicked his tongue as he tapped controls. His eyebrow then arched as a sensor readout flashed before his green eyes. "Two of the Home Base hunters?" he trilled before turning to tap controls to do an identification scan. "Okay, Kuriinba of Kyotos, A.K.A. Hazel . . . and Katsunba of Kyotos, A.K.A. Althea. Oh, Mansur rated the elite, eh? Not bad, Governor . . . "

With that, he sat back in his chair. Karosur would be back in three hours with friends and payment.

Time to prepare.

* * *

In orbit . . .

"Everything about this guy checks out, Hazel," Hyakka stated with a shake of his head.

Everyone was currently relaxing on the _Perseverance_'s bridge. "Born in Karchos, Dysos, eighteen years ago," Home Base's computer technician/operator continued his report. "Did the Test of Life on Cademus when he was ten; passed that with flying colours. Parents are dead due to bandit raids on his hometown. He has no siblings or any intimate relations. He's been trading on his own for the past two years, though reports of him smuggling weapons have only started appearing two months ago."

Hazel hummed. "Really?" There were six people assigned to this mission: herself, Althea, Daros -- they were the field agents -- plus Hyakka (to maintain the link with Home Base's computer), Naosu (medical support) and Kyonba (Home Base's chief engineer, to help run the ship). Given that their target was a very prominent businessman, their presence on Colony 100 had to be kept as secret as possible. The only people dirtside who knew of Home Base's involvement in Chonba's investigation on Mansur was the governor herself and her senior staff. "What about the ship, Hyakka?" Hazel then asked. "How did that check out?"

"Clean," he replied. "Aleko ordered it second-hand from the Ronsho Yards in Varakos five months ago. Standard Type 20 one-man cargo/long-range transport with the usual weapons package. From what I can scan of her, the ship's as we expected. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Daros' brow creased as a concerned look crossed his face. "The name's funny, though."

Althea gazed at her fiancé. "What do you mean, Da-chan?"

"Well, it translates _Queen An's Revenge_. I checked it up myself, Ka-chan. There's no record of an Anna, Anra, or Anba who was a queen or empress ANYWHERE in Yehisrite history."

Kyonba blinked. "Wait! I've heard that name before, but . . . " Her voice trailed off as her brow furrowed, she taking a moment to consider the matter, and then she turned to Hyakka. "Why don't you have the Computer run the name through our Encyclopaedia Intergalactica database? Maybe she can find something."

"All right."

Hyakka turned to his board, his fingers flying over the keys. "Sure is a handsome fellow," Naosu mused as he gazed at Aleko's picture taken from the records.

"Yeah, he is that . . . but he's nowhere close to Da-chan!" Althea gushed as she hugged Daros' arm.

"Will you two relax!" Hazel chided them. "Something's bothering you, Naosu. What is it?"

"Well . . . " The doctor sat back in his chair, stroking his clean-shaven chin as he considered what to say. Despite him not being field staff, everyone on Home Base valued Naosu's insights. A real doctor, Naosu said, was a detective first and foremost. "You know, listening to all of you and what you've said, this guy seems almost TOO perfect to fit the profile of a weapons smuggler supplying the neo-Mikadoites."

"'TOO perfect!'" Kyonba wondered.

Naosu nodded. "No real connections to anyone to confirm or deny anything, he's got a ship and there've been reports on him from other colonies . . . " A finger rose up to emphasize the point. "Reports, I should remind you all, that neo-Mikadoite informants could ALSO get their hands on. To our opponents, he'd be the right sort to contact to get their hands on arms . . . yet . . . "

"Whoa, what're you saying? This guy's working for someone to act as bait for Mansur!" Daros asked.

"It looks like that to me, Daros."

"If he is, who's he really working for?" Kyonba wondered. "Gegranko? That'd be my first suspect."

Hazel empathically shook her head; she was Home Base's expert on THAT particular man. "Not Gegranko. He hates anything that even _smells_ of a Mikado connection. The Mikado tried to shut down some of his operations before the Civil War . . . and that was something Gegranko never forgave nor forgot . . . "

"That would make all the more sense," Althea objected. "If Gegranko wants all remnants of the Mikado gone, what better way than to tap into the arms market, then sink them before they could do any damage?"

"That wouldn't last for long. If I know Gegranko, he wouldn't see any long-range profit in doing this," Hazel countered. "No, it's not him. But if this Aleko _is_ a plant . . . "

"Wait a sec'! Got something!" Hyakka announced.

"What is it, Hyakka?" Daros asked.

"Just picked up a small historical reference on an Earth wet-ship named _Queen Anne's Revenge_." Hyakka pointed to his viewscreen. "It dates back from the early part of their Eighteenth Century. More legend than fact; it's backed up by an account written by a man named Daniel Dafoe. Supposedly, this ship was the headquarters ship of a English pirate named Edward Teach, also known as . . . "

"Blackbeard!" Kyonba gasped. Luckily for the hunters, one of their resident engineer's many hobbies was studying obscure historical factoids. The short history of Earth's so-called "Golden Age of Piracy" had been one of the things that had wrapped her attention whenever she wasn't busy on missions or repairing the _Perseverance_. "That's where I remembered the name! Blackbeard died on his ship when the British Royal Navy caught up to him . . . oh, this was around 1718, I think . . . "

"How in Lecasur's name would someone from Yehisril know something as obscure as that?" Althea asked.

A sharp intake of breath. Eyes locked on Hazel. She was quivering. "What is it?" Naosu asked.

"Lecasur's Soul . . . it's _HIM!_" Hazel whispered as she stood, turning to head back to her cabin.

The others watched her go. "What's with her?" Daros asked.

"Hazel!" Althea called out as she raced back after her friend.

* * *

A fast-paced opera was playing over the speakers in the master bedroom of the _An-qil Ufpif_ as the trader, nude, sat seiza before his personal shrine. Sandra Annette Phillips' picture sat in the shrine, a traditional Japanese butsudan, complete with an ihai to his departed fiancée sitting under the picture. Budou Chiezou, chief priest of the Clan Moroboshi, had blessed the ihai sometime after Sandra's death, and then it had been passed on to him by one of the Gaelic druids working for Nicole, Connor Macgillvary. The inscriptions were in Japanese and Vosian, languages as known to Jamie McTavish as English and Scots Gaelic.

So many reflections . . .

So many influences . . .

Which way to go?

An intercom signal buzzed. "_Jamie?_" the ship's computer, which spoke with Sandra's voice, hailed. "_Colonel Gomasur is calling._"

Aleko/Jamie sighed. "Pipe it through."

"Jamie!"

He tensed himself. "Yes, sir?"

"How's the mission?"

"So far, so good," Jamie replied. "A representative from Mansur's number two man took the nibble and, barring any problems, it'll go down late tonight. If I can sweep it all up in one fight, it'll have all the neo-Mikadoites in the sector running scared. We can leave it to the squibs in the DIA . . . " -- by this, Jamie meant the Vosian Defence Intelligence Agency -- "To deal with Mansur."

"Good. I'll pass it onto the Director."

Jamie then perked. "Oh, did you know some of Nassur's crew is here?"

Silence. "What!" Gomasur then demanded.

"I spotted two of Nassur's students here: Hazel and Althea. The way I figure it now, the only person who'd hire them here is the governor herself. Any confirmation?"

"I'll get it as soon as I can, Jamie," the commander of the An'san-Mikado replied. "We just got news that Nassur and his wife were found on Elle a week ago by the Moroboshis, Princess Shinobu and friends."

"Okay, fair enough," Jamie replied. "I'll call back when I'm done. Iceman out."

"_Link cut_," the ship's computer announced.

"Thank you," Jamie called back with a nod before he moved to relax himself, closing his eyes.

Soul of ice . . .

Soul of ice . . .

Soul of ice . . .

* * *

"Jamie McTavish!"

"It's him, Althea!" Hazel said before biting her lip. "I'm sure of it this time! The same colony he mentioned all those years ago, roughly the time he indicated it'd happen . . . except for the skin, Aleko LOOKS like him! And we have a file on Jamie at Home Base!"

Althea shook her head. For the last year, Hazel had become agitated, as if she had been expecting something important to happen to her. It had something to do with an incident in Tomobiki back in 1984, just before the Planet of Shadows mission and the end of the Civil War. Nassur, Benten and Hazel never mentioned any details to their co-workers, but from what Althea had come to ascertain over the years, someone from the Earth year 2002 had come back in time to that moment in 1984, chasing someone who wanted to kill Hazel . . .

And he had saved Hazel's life.

His name was James Alexander -- "Jamie" -- McTavish of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Althea strongly suspected Hazel had held quite the crush on Jamie since that meeting long ago. He had haunted Hazel's dreams for years, throughout all the ups and downs in the hunter's work on Home Base as temporary leader of Nassur's group. Althea didn't blame her friend for feeling this way when it came to the handsome young Canadian. From what pictures Althea had seen of Jamie McTavish, the guy was what most Terran women called "beefcake;" "sweet recognition bait" was the usual Vosian term for someone THAT gorgeous.

Two years ago, information about Jamie, then a freshman high school student at Robert Land Academy, Canada's only private boy's school built on a military theme, percolated to Home Base. Sensing good hunter material in the lad from Nova Scotia, the hybrids extended an invitation for Jamie to attend their private training school. To better sweeten the offer, Jamie did the obligatory aptitude test before he was accepted. To the hybrids' sheer delight (especially Hazel's), Jamie passed with the highest grade possible!

Then, to the hybrids' surprise, he turned their invitation down!

That had caused some consternation among the hybrids; despite the troubles they had endured due to their part-Ipraedies ancestry among many sectors of galactic society, the hunters of Home Base had spent years building on the foundation Nassur left them, creating a training school where would-be bounty hunters and other law enforcement officials fought vigorously to attend. For them to confront a rejection like _this_ had been quite disconcerting to those involved; according to Jamie McTavish's explanation at the time, he wanted to finish high school before deciding on a future career. While the others running the school testing committee -- Althea, Daros, and Darsei -- decided to close the file and leave him be, Hazel overrode them. She persuaded them to wait until Jamie was closer to graduating before they extend the offer again.

They had done so that summer.

Jamie turned them down again. This time, it was for compassionate reasons. According to his school headmaster, Colonel G. Scott Bowman, Jamie's fiancée, Sandra Phillips, had died in a tragic auto accident just after summer vacation began and Jamie needed time to mourn. That response had hurt Hazel as badly as it no doubt hurt Jamie; the hybrids' leader had remained locked in her apartment for two days weeping. Her reaction piqued Althea's interest enough to do some of her own digging around with Hyakka's help . . .

Before long, they discovered the secret file Nassur made concerning what happened in January of 1984.

"So it's him," Althea mused. "Hazel, he came back from NEXT year, remember! He won't know you!"

Hazel sighed. "I know. But . . . this goes WAY beyond the normal rules when it comes to time-travel problems, Althea. I OWE HIM MY LIFE!" she screamed out to nowhere in particular before she gazed at her friend. "You should've seen him go at those people, Althea! Sensei had NOTHING on Jamie! He wiped them out without breaking a sweat!" Another sigh. "For seventeen years, I've waited, Althea . . . "

"And had loads of wet dreams about it," Althea added.

"Pervert!" Hazel retorted before she smiled, gazing out the window. "I can't reveal what I know, not without risking the time-stream's integrity . . . but deep in my heart, I want to scream it out to the whole galaxy, Althea! It's him! This is the man who I will owe my life to, TWICE! I . . . I . . . " She closed her eyes. "I love him . . . and at this time, I hardly know him at all."

"Well, finding out more's gonna be a bitch," Althea warned. "I sent a discrete inquiry to Robert Land Academy about Sandra Phillips just after she died." A shrug. "Made it look like we didn't know what had happened to her, of course." A sigh. "The file was sealed tighter than a safe, Hazel, even to Hyakka. I . . . " A pause before she breathed out, "I couldn't find a thing about her."

"It's all right," Hazel acknowledged. "Thanks."

"Hey, anything for you. 'Sides, if you did recognize him . . . "

"No, it won't happen."

"You can't be sure . . . "

"It won't, Althea. Don't forget, I was there when Sensei and Benten wrote that report. They didn't record the fact that the person who came back in time to get Jamie back home to 2002 was his wife."

Althea gaped. "His WIFE!"

"Yeah. I . . . damn, seventeen years and so many changes in our lives can really play havoc with your memories, you know that!" Hazel then clicked her tongue. "I forgot her name since I only saw her so briefly. She was related to someone Sempai knew, though . . . "

Althea frowned. "Too bad. I mean, if he's THIS good, then let's get him to work for us!"

"We'll see."

The intercom whistled. "Hazel, it's Daros!"

"What is it!" Hazel asked.

"We've picked up a dozen or so people now in the hangar with Aleko's ship. Looks like it's starting."

"Understood! Let's go!"

* * *

Inside the hangar, Aleko waited by his ship, a cool look etched on his face. He knew battle was coming. He could feel it. It was a stirring from within . . . IT was stirring within him, hungering for release. _Not yet_, he thought. _I can't release you yet . . ._

He then heard the droning sound of one of the doors to the hangar slowly opening, followed by footsteps of several people on the concrete floor. From the sounds of their boots on the pavement, it was easy to guess who they were: members of Colonial Security. About a dozen of them from the sounds of it. _Seems Karosur managed to get some friends together to come for his toys_, Aleko mused.

Turning around, he barely hid his smile on noting how well he had guessed the situation. Karosur was leading a pack of a dozen low-ranked operatives if Aleko knew CCS insignia correctly. Obviously, they were there as part of Karosur's little clique. "Aleko!" Karosur hailed with a smile as he greeted the trader. "I'm glad you're still here!" A handshake later, he continued, "My superiors have given their approval on what you're offering to us. It's still fifty credits each for the Range Hunters, isn't it?"

"Of course," Aleko replied, slipping back into character. "It's dishonourable to haggle!"

Both men laughed. Aleko then noticed someone moving behind a nearby window. Two someones to be precise, both dark-skinned girls dressed in what looked like Tookonokooen farmer's coveralls and T-shirts. A quick glance towards his visitors then told the trader that neither Karosur nor any of his people had noticed. Obviously, their tracking abilities weren't very strong.

Glance back. One of the girls had long, slightly curly black hair. From the way her outfit was bunched upstairs, she was probably well endowed in terms of breast size. The other had long auburn-hair -- unusual but not a totally unknown hair colour for a Tookonokooen -- and she possessed a more daintier body-build than her partner. Both were cute, even though they were drawing weapons. _Can't be Tookonokooen_, the trader thought to himself as he remembered the odd run-in he had experienced with members of this unusual humanoid species, people who reminded Jamie McTavish of natives of the West Indies before he went into space. _They wouldn't act so covert. Hell, a Tookonokooen with a weapon is almost an oxymoron; they'd be afraid it would go off!_ Only one conclusion could be made. _Must be from Nassur's crew._

Karosur then produced a huge wad of 100 credit notes from one of his uniform pockets to hand to Aleko. "We'll all of take them!"

"A pleasure doing business with you," Aleko replied as he took the money and began to count it.

Karosur then motioned to four of the larger, stronger-looking members of his group. "Bring the large green box in the hold."

Minutes later, the security personnel disembarked, they carrying the box holding the Range Hunters. Once clear of the ship, they placed it in front of Karosur. With a churlish grin, he opened the box to pull out one of the weapons to show off to the rest. "Look at this!" he crowed with a pride-filled smile, as if he got the present he always wanted for Christmas. "A Range Hunter! Stronger than anything in the Defence Force! With these, no one will ignore us again!" He turned to Aleko. "And we have this man to thank!"

He nodded to his companions. Without hesitation, they pulled out weapons of their own, they shifting around to surround Aleko before the Yehisrite had a chance to realize what was happening. "What is this?" he demanded, his hands rising. "We had a deal . . . "

"I know," Karosur replied. "It seemed a little _too_ convenient to us that someone like YOU managed to get a hold of such restricted weapons. Even so, you don't think that we'd allow you to live for very long AFTER you given them to us!"

With that, he seized the money he gave Aleko and put it into his own pocket. _Tricked_, Aleko thought to himself, a chilly feeling surging through him. He half-expected this. Whoever these guys Mansur had on his payroll, they weren't above doing something like . . .

_CRASH!_

Everyone spun around just as Hazel and Althea smashed their way through the window, the hunters rolling back to their feet on hitting the floor, their weapons leaping out of their holsters with oiled precision. "Hold it!" Hazel snapped. "We've got you covered!"

"What!" Karosur gaped in surprised shock. "Who in Purgatory are you!"

Aleko lunged into action, his fists downing the security personnel closest to him. The other security personnel ran over to attack Hazel and Althea. The hunters were quick to defend themselves with their own hand-to-hand techniques. In minutes, the hanger was like a battle royale in pro wrestling, everyone fighting with each other . . . save for Karosur, who had run out as soon as the fighting started.

Hazel tried to stop Karosur before he made it out the door. Unfortunately for her, Aleko had the same idea. As they chased after the fleeing man, they sprang into the air to tackle Karosur -- and collided with each other on their heads before they could grab them!

By the time they had recovered, Karosur was out of the hanger, in his car, and driving off.

* * *

Several minutes later, none of the security team were conscious as Hazel, Althea and Aleko caught their breath from the battle. "We got most of them!" Althea panted as she patted her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, but the big fish got away!" Hazel noted.

"Well, I won't complain!" Aleko replied, his Dysos accent gone as he addressed the hunters in accent-perfect Vosian that he had learned over the previous six summers. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead by now. Besides, I wanted Karosur to escape."

Hazel looked at Aleko strangely. "What do you mean?"

"Simple. You don't start with a twig to tear down a tree. You have to go to the roots and kill it there before chopping it down! We follow Karosur to his contact, his contact to his and so on . . . "

"I was right," she interrupted. "You're no Yehisrite!"

"Is it that obvious?" A smirk. "Then again, a pro can tell neither of you're Tookonokooen."

"And here we thought our disguises were perfect!" Althea quipped.

"Anyway," he continued. "You can call me Aleko. You are . . . ?"

"Hazel," the woman introduced herself. "And this is Althea. We're two of Nassur's Hunters. We're investigating the strange goings on with anything to do with Mansur!"

"Funny," he then said. "So am I. Would you care to work together?"

"It depends," Hazel replied. "Who are you working for?"

"Have you ever heard of the An'san-Mikado?"

Hazel paused as she recalled the name of the most prominent of the legendary Revolutionary Special Warrior's Guilds. The An'san-Mikado -- the phrase loosely translated as "Death to the Mikado;" it actually meant something more deeper -- was a section of the Internal Security Ministry, tasked to eliminate what remained of the Mikado's forces, as well as prevent any neo-Mikado groups from springing up. The An'san-Mikado were not a group which could be ignored, especially given the fact that one of their top operatives -- known only as the "Iceman" -- had enjoyed a high kill ratio since he burst onto the scene a month before.

_Still_, Hazel mused, _What would the likes of the An'san-Mikado want with Mansur?_ From what she knew, Mansur was someone who didn't seem to have any link with the Mikado or any of his followers.

"Let's just say I'm freelancing," Aleko replied after she asked him that very question.

"Right," Althea gave him a suspicious look, before she turned to Hazel. "Can I talk to you in private for a moment, Kuriinba?"

"Sure."

They walked to another part of the hanger. On noticing that Aleko wasn't gazing at them, Althea began, "Look, Kuriicha, I know you think this is the guy who saved your life years ago, but this is an important mission. The future of this colony depends on us getting the goods on Mansur. Are you willing to have someone who won't even give us his real name to help us?"

"How long have we been on this planet, dressed as a pair of Tookonokooen farm girls, without even coming close to a lead?" Hazel retorted before she waved to Aleko. "Now, he comes along and gives us something we've been trying to get on the first try!"

"Ladies." Aleko suddenly appeared beside the two hunters, causing both of them to nearly leap out of their clothes in shock. "The more you bicker, the sooner Karosur will get away!" the faux Yehisrite warned. "Do you want to bag Mansur or not?"

"Well . . . " Althea began.

"Okay, let's pool our resources," Hazel cut her friend off. "Still, let's try not to interfere with each other's work." She then paused as she considered if she should say this, and then she sighed. "I can't reveal why, but I trust you, Aleko. You might say we're fated to meet each other. But, still, we're fellow law-enforcers; once this is over, we go our separate ways, understand?"

"You got it," he acknowledged that with a curt nod. He had known about Hazel and the other Nassur hunters for years, long before their representative -- Darsei, in fact -- had come to Robert Land Academy to give a young Jamie McTavish an initial offer to come work with them. They were one of the best groups of manhunters in the known galaxy; even the Sagussans, with all their vast resources and the many Pirpirsiw'r living among them, often tapped into the expertise Hazel's group could call on to capture criminals wanted by the Fifth Republic. From what he had heard, Hazel was said to be the best of the whole lot.

_No wonder she's their leader . . . and so beautiful as well . . ._

_Enough of that, McTavish!_ he then scolded himself in mid-thought. He had a job to do; he wasn't here on Colony 100 to chase some beautiful girl, even if she WAS blessed with a pair of very pretty eyes.

He had given that up when Sandra . . .

"Fine," Hazel acknowledged. She could feel some empathy for Aleko -- or whoever he really was; she certainly could guess about that! Still, it was easy to sense the pain within him. A pain so great, she could remember only two other people having a similar pain inside.

One of them was her "sempai," Moroboshi Ataru.

The other was her teacher and foster father, Nassur.

Still, his pain radiated from his eyes into Hazel's heart, urging some type of longing for him.

Could it be . . . ?

_Nah!_ she caught herself from going down THAT particular mental path. _Get with the damned program, Kuriicha! You're here to do a job, not seek a mate! Besides, if Aleko is who I THINK he is, he's still grieving the loss of his old girlfriend . . . and, if what I was told would happen over the next year actually plays out, he'll probably get another girl he would want to marry back on Earth . . ._

"Let's go to our ship," she then spoke up. "We need to interrogate whom we have."

"No problem," Aleko said, nodding.

* * *

In a well-furnished apartment in one of the richer sections of Colony 100's capital city, Karosur staggers inside. _This won't please Diasur_, he thought as he entered his apartment, heading right away to the videophone. He immediately dialled a number on the phone; unfortunately, Colony 100's videophone service still had no automatic dial-up service yet.

Diasur soon answered. "What is it?" he gruffly asked. "Didn't you get the Range Hunters and terminate that fake Yehisrite trader?"

"N-no, sir," Karosur nervously replied. Though he was a seasoned officer in the CCS, he always felt ill at ease whenever Diasur was upset at him. "We almost had them, but . . . "

An icy glare came his way. "'But?'"

"Two of Nassur's Hunters appeared to save him," Karosur reported. "We didn't know they were around, sir! None of the people I had with me had strong enough tracking powers to sense someone like them! I barely managed to escape myself."

"I see. Well, those people whom you brought with you know nothing about Mansur! We're still safe."

"Do you think so?"

"Look, Karosur," Diasur replied. "If all the government of the Confederation sends after us are non-Vosians and half-breeds," -- he evilly grinned -- "Then we have nothing to worry about. Now, if they had sent Nassur himself . . . that's another story."

Karosur shakily nodded. "True. What should I do in the meantime?"

"Sit tight," Diasur replied. "We don't want anyone to know what I'm really doing with the money I've transferred from my own banks while you and your men have been covering up with your 'commando raids.' By the way, how many men do you still have?"

"Forty-five. They've been adding more people. I'm just surprised that the chief hasn't noticed."

"It proves some money in the right place will buy you anything," Diasur noted as he moved to sever the link. Karosur still had some use, but even he could be replaced. "I'll inform Mansur about this. I don't think he'd be happy about it."

The link was severed. Staring at the blank screen, Karosur then felt something in his stomach.

Fear.

* * *

In the meantime, Diasur was busy calling a number on his "safe" list. "Hello?" Mansur replied.

"It's Diasur, sir. We have a problem. Karosur didn't get the guns or killed that fake Yehisrite trader who was selling them. Apparently, those Nassur Hunters intervened."

"How bad was it?"

"Only Karosur escaped. The others are under arrested and in detention."

"A sad thing," Mansur breathed out. "We'll have to dispose of Karosur. You know what to do?"

"I have their numbers on my safe list."

"Do it by tonight! I don't want anyone trying to get anything on us! Our leader in Sulanda would be most . . . upset if the operation ended before it has truly begun!"

"Understood. I'll oversee it myself. Goodbye."

The link was cut. Diasur looked over his "safe" list of contacts. Truthfully, he didn't like doing this. But unlike legitimate businesses -- where firing someone only meant they could then turn around to find a way to get back at you, either through the courts or some other way -- in Diasur's stock in trade, "firing" means going to whatever reward the Gods may have waiting for you.

* * *

Aboard the _Perseverance_ . . .

Hazel, Althea and Aleko were talking over some plans together with Daros. The female hunters had, by then, stripped off their disguises. Aleko was still wearing his, though he no longer spoke Vosian with a Dysos-Yehisrite accent. "So we know Karosur is in Mansur's camp," Daros mused. "And that the An'san-Mikado is involved with trying to catch this guy, too. May I ask why?"

"Mansur may not be a Mikadoite or even an neo-Mikadoite," Aleko reported, "But he's just as bad."

"As far as we know, he's a just a corrupt businessman who wants to get ahead by bribing everyone in his way," Hazel stated. "He's certainly nothing to warrant bringing in you guys."

Aleko gazed on her, and then he stood, walking over to gaze out of the porthole. His eyes took in the landscape far below, a small city with several modern buildings in various states of construction, it all surrounded by temporary shacks similar to those from the poorer sections of the developing nations on Earth. "When you look out of this porthole, what do you see?" he asked bluntly.

The hunters rose to gaze out the porthole. "I see a small settlement still trying to get the basics in place," Hazel replied.

"This colony was established a century ago," Aleko explained. "Seven other colonies were established at the same time, but Colony 100 is NOWHERE near as advanced as they are. Do you know why is that?"

Althea shook her head. "No."

"It's because someone DOESN'T want this colony to succeed, Althea," Aleko replied. "Why and for what purpose, I haven't been able to understand. But, for every setback here, Mansur profits."

"What about the bombings?" Daros asked. "His businesses have been bombed on other colonies."

"There's an explanation for that, too." Aleko then smiled on seeing his companions' baffled looks before he carried on, "Mansur had it done!"

"What do you mean?" Hazel gasped. "Why would he have his own businesses blown up!"

"That's what I'm here to ascertain," Aleko replied. "To find out, we have to think like him."

"And how do you propose to do that, Aleko?" Althea asked. "We haven't been able to get close to him long enough to get any idea of his motives. Besides, his home is designed with people like us in mind and his communications are scrambled in such a way that even Hyakka and the Home Base Computer have trouble finding out what the message was."

"There is something going on," Hazel then piped up. "We've noticed that once every week, Mansur seems to be in contact with someone on Vos. One of the smaller cities there. It's called Sulanda. It's so far away from the capital, that you can only get there either by teleporting in or taking a small plane to its' airport from one of the other cities."

"I know where that city is," Aleko replied. "If I remember correctly, many of the Mikado's cronies came from that particular sector of Vos. It was also the site of a key battle in the Civil War."

"I've been there, too," Hazel acknowledged. "It's a pretty conservative area, even today. The people there didn't like Lecasur too much according to the history books. The area was a lot like the United States on Earth." She rolled her eyes. "Ruled by almost unchecked capitalistic practices and people with a conservative social agenda."

"Now that's interesting," Aleko mused as he remembered his own visits there; Sulanda wasn't too far from Pashansho. "Then again, it would explain the number of Mikado supporters the An'san-Mikado have captured who originally hailed from there."

"I wonder," Hazel thought aloud, "What's Mansur really doing?"

"Whatever it is," Aleko said, "It could be big! But we won't find out until we get to Karosur. I take it you've got his address."

"We got it from the Colonial Security's own computers," Althea replied.

Aleko nodded. "Let's go!"

* * *

At his apartment, Karosur sat nervously. He knew that, at any moment, someone from the still-loyal members of Colonial Security could come bursting through his front door to arrest him. If that happened, Mansur would be displeased! VERY displeased!

The doorbell.

Karosur could sense someone there, but his powers -- his ability was average for a Vosian -- couldn't tell him who it was. "Who is it?" he called out as he turned to the door, a hand reaching for his gun.

"It's me!"

"Diasur?" he asked as he moved to open the door. "What are you doing here?"

Diasur stepped in, a pair of Colonial Security officers -- both larger and more muscular than the average Vosian -- behind him. Because their visored helmets obscured their faces, Karosur couldn't see who they were. "Sir?" Karosur then wondered.

"Need you ask?" the older man replied, a slight grin crossing his face. "I've been in contact with Mansur. He has decided to cut his losses and remove you from our organization. Goodbye, Karosur."

With that, he motioned to the guards . . .

* * *

By the time Aleko, Hazel and Althea arrived at Karosur's apartment, personnel from Colonial Security were there, the door of the apartment marked off as if it were a crime scene. "What's going on here?" Hazel asked the CSS officer who seemed to be in charge of the matter after she flashed him her hunter's badge.

"Murder, Miss Kuriinba," he cryptically replied. "According to reports, someone beat up one of our officers to death and escaped."

"Beaten to death?" Althea gasped.

They morbidly watched as a gurney was wheeled out of the entrance of the apartment by two medical technicians. The body was covered completely with a white sheet. Aleko moved to take a closer examination. He found his way blocked by the other officers. "Hold it!" one of them called out, and then her breath caught in her throat when Aleko reached up to pull his sleeve away to reveal the red cygnet-eating-black cygnet tattoo etched into his left deltoid muscle. "Oh! I didn't know you were one of _them_. Sorry!"

With that, he moved over to gaze under the sheet. "It's Karosur."

"You know him?" the officer asked.

"What do you think, Constable?" he retorted with an annoyed stare. "Do you honestly believe it's my hobby to go around looking at any bodies covered by sheets and saying, 'It's Karosur?'"

She shrugged. "It beats collecting music CDs."

_This bunch needs to improve on their public relations_, Althea thought to herself before speaking up, "We don't know him personally, but he's wanted for information about the recent bombings on this colony."

"I see," the officer replied. "Apparently then, there's more to it than a simple robbery attempt."

"What about the other security officers who were arrested recently?" Aleko asked.

"None of them're saying anything at this moment. It's funny, though."

"What is?"

"Karosur wasn't that high up in the ranks, but he could afford this place."

The visitors gazed into the apartment. "Dead end," Hazel said. "Let's go back to the ship!"

"Agreed," Aleko huffed.

* * *

Later . . .

"Karosur was the only link we had to Mansur," Hazel groaned as she ordered up a hot fudge sundae from the _Perseverance_'s food replicator. "It's obvious Mansur got to him first. Now we're back to square one."

"I understand your frustration," Aleko noted as he watched his current work partner gorge herself on the sundae, his rising eyebrow the only sign of his surprise. "But, if anything, Karosur's death proved that Mansur is our target. But, as to what he might be doing and for whom he's doing it for . . . ?"

He shrugged. "Hazel!" Althea spat as she watched her friend go to town, her disgust at Hazel's eating binge all too apparent. "You eat that and you'll be going back to the blimp you were a few years ago."

"You know I eat when I'm frustrated," Hazel retorted as she carried on downing the ice cream. "Besides, you ordered a larger one yourself! And your kill-belt's looking a little snug, too."

Althea blushed, she failing to hide her own sundae behind herself. Ever since the _Perseverance_ had been commissioned, Hazel and Althea had programmed the food units to create dishes from at least one hundred planets, including Earth. While most of the other hunters in Nassur's group didn't care much for Terran food, Hazel and Althea seemed to live on it . . . and it sometimes showed on their hips!

_I have to admit, Hazel looks good no matter what weight she's at_, Aleko mused to himself as he watched her eat. _Maybe when this is all over, I could get her to pose for me for my figure drawing . . ._

_Better keep your mind on the job, Jamie!_ he then scolded himself. _You're not supposed to be thinking about figure drawing models right now!_ He then blinked. _Besides, why do I have a feeling that this won't be the only time we'll be working with each other?_ "I've got an idea," he then piped up. "We should look up the backgrounds of all the Colonial Security members who were involved in this."

"Hyakka's already on the job," Hazel replied.

"Hyakka?"

"He's our computer technician," Althea explained. "The Home Base Computer is pretty good at getting anything from any computer system in the known Galaxy . . . though, her methods are unusual."

"Her?" Aleko asked dumbly.

"You really don't want to know," Hazel groaned as she finished her sundae.

* * *

At his office, Mansur was making a call to his hidden benefactor. "I've had Karosur dealt with," he reported. "The other people arrested don't know a tenth of what Karosur knew about our operations."

"That's good," the person on the other end of the link replied. The voice was distorted enough so that anyone listening in wouldn't be able to tell whether the person was male or female, young or old, or what race they are. _All the better to keep things secret_, Mansur thought. Especially from members of Colonial Security not under his control, those of Nassur's hunters already here or from . . . THEM.

"I hope our problems would be as easy to solve," he spoke with a tired sigh. "I mean, keeping the government at bay is one thing, but picking a fight with the Neo-Mikadoites, too? What are you thinking?"

"Both are too busy fighting each other to know the truth about what's really going on," the caller replied. "I should know; I WAS a Mikado hunter. When he was ready to fall, I got away. And you KNOW who's running Vos and the colonies now. Neither side has a clue about what we're doing. Even if they did, they'd only blame each other and fight until one side -- or both! -- was destroyed. We're safe to carve an empire of our own to knock off survivors! Then the people who SHOULD be ruling Vos will hold the balance of power."

Mansur soon ended the contact, and then he stood to gaze out of his office window at the capital city's night scene. Most of the construction workers had gone home for the day, leaving security personnel and those building sites that employ a 26-hour shift still in operation. _The puny ants!_ he derisively mused. _They think their work's SO important . . . when against the REAL scale of things, all they've done'll be forgotten by the start of the next working day. They don't know what real power is. Neither do those fools who're in charge. They're pretenders until someone like the Mikado or my leader comes around. Still, it's hard to believe we've come this far and ONLY raising the interest of Nassur's group and the An'san-Mikado. But . . . this is something out of even their league._

He poured himself a glassful of Terran cognac. He got a hold of a bottle of this alien alcohol from the western region of the Earth nation of France during a visit to an industrial trade show on Uru a few years ago. Since any Terran alcohol wasn't strong enough to make a Vosian _child_ drunk, his compatriots had simply shook their heads in confusion when he announced he had bought a bottle of it at the hotel they were staying at. Still, despite the weak alcoholic effect, he enjoyed it. Perhaps someday, he would go visit the city whose name the drink bore and purchase some more. Until then, he had to be content with only a bottle.

Mansur would only drink it when he felt he had accomplished something.

He had this very day.

He had rid himself of a damaging problem and kept his enemies on the ropes. _They are young_, he thought to himself. _Naive. They believe everyone doing something for power has to have grand plans that will play out like something out of a holovision melodrama. They forget people trying to get REAL power have no taste for theatre. They pursue their goals slowly until they're ready. And when they're ready, they strike like a cat pouncing on a mouse . . . without mercy or regret . . . and take what they want._

_We're soon ready to be the cat . . ._

_And this colony's the first to be the mouse._

* * *

In orbit . . .

"There's gotta be _something_ Mansur's up to which is making him hide his tracks in such an odd way," Hazel groaned as she and her companions gazed at the report Hyakka gave her sometime before. "There's no proof of him having ANY dealings with the remaining missing Mikado Marine forces or any Neo-Mikadoite groups around. All the intelligence we have on him makes him a clean as soap."

"We must be overlooking something," Aleko said. "If Mansur isn't the villain, the person he's communicating with is."

"We could prove it only IF we could tap into his conversations," Althea quipped, and then she added forlornly, "Even Hyakka can't do it."

"There's something about Mansur and this whole case which I should know. But I just can't remember what it was," Hazel then groaned before she gazed on their guest. "Aleko, you know, you remind me of someone I met long ago. Someone who helped me in one of my first cases before Sensei disappeared. He . . . saved my life, and then he said I would meet him years later."

A shrug. "I wouldn't know anything about that. When Nassur disappeared, I was only a baby."

"There must be SOME connection we're missing."

The fake Yehisrite then stood. "Why don't you go to bed for a while as I go out to find some clues?"

"How do you propose to do that?" Althea asked.

"On Earth, in the movies, police sometimes go out to the streets to find out things about the people they're after," he explained.

"We've tried that," Hazel retorted. "The streets here are as empty as most of the buildings."

"That's because everyone's more scared of Mansur than you," he replied. "I can change that."

Hazel perked. "How?"

"I have my ways," Aleko replied as a steel-cold glimmer flickered in one of his evergreen eyes. "I'd tell you, but I think it's something that's best kept a secret. I'll call you if I turn up anything."

* * *

Several hours later . . .

Like most "establishments" of this nature, the bar was mainly used for drinking and socializing. Tired workers were busy allowing their fatigue to wash away in the company of work colleagues, friends, and/or more intimate acquaintances. A few were currently too drunk when dealing with matters concerning someone of the opposite sex in an extreme way . . . with the various consequences such an act resulted in. There were a few "people of the evening" who used the bar as a way to continue their own "commerce." And then, there were a few people sitting away from anyone so they could quietly drink the night away.

It was not much different from the other five such bars Aleko had visited this evening.

When he walked into this particular bar, there were two gentlemen having an animated "discussion" via the ancient art of fisticuffs. Unfortunately, they were busy carrying their "discussion" to the door the fake Yehisrite had been walking through.

Unfortunately for them, he had been expecting something like this. Having been with the An'san-Mikado for over a month during this working tour (plus having also served as a trainee field officer during the previous summer away from the Academy), Aleko had been in these type of places more times then he cared to admit to his parents. What was worse, in many places on Earth, he wasn't even old enough to drink alcohol!

He knew what to do . . .

Punched them out and threw them out of the front door!

That gave Aleko the respect he needed.

Currently at the bar he was walking over to relax against, only those too drunk to notice what had happened didn't clear the path for the fake Yehisrite. The bartender, an average sized, middle-aged man with short balding hair and a piercing look in his eye, then came up to him.

"Whaddaya want?" he impatiently demanded with a gravely sounding voice.

"I'm not here to drink," Aleko replied. "I'm searching for information."

_A Yehisrite NOT looking for booze?_ the bartender thought, immediately realizing how unusual that was. Yehisrites as a whole enjoyed almost a big reputation for loving drink throughout the local cluster, second only to the Sagussans. Unfortunately, Yehisrites were known not to be "happy" drunks. "Hey, this is a respectable bar, mac!" he then noted. "I don't want any trouble!"

"So I've seen. I'm looking for some people who're interested in blowing up some . . . places."

The bar went silent as everyone turned to gaze on the fake Yehisrite, they ALL having heard what Aleko just said. "Blowing up some places?" the bartender then asked as he made a hidden gesture to one of his bouncers standing nearby. "You sound like you want to help those guys who're blowing up things around here."

"That's why I'm interested in them," Aleko coolly replies. "I've been to five places tonight. There're no more bars around on this colony. Surely SOMEONE knows about how to contact them."

"I wouldn't know anything about that," the older man said as he gestured again to the bouncer, a large burly man who could easily be a professional wrestler on Earth. The bouncer then moved up slowly behind Aleko, his hands shifting up, awaiting the right moment to strike.

"I think you do," Aleko said, eyes narrowing. "A Colonial Security officer named Karosur was found murdered earlier today. He was wanted in connection with these people who have been bombings around here."

"You with the CCS?"

"No, something better . . . "

And then, like greased lightning, Aleko spun around, grabbed the bouncer behind him, and then he judo-threw the poor fellow over the bar. The bouncer hits the floor with a loud _BANG!_ Seeing that, the bartender moved to reach for a gun hidden under the counter. Hands shot over to effortlessly disarm him, they then snaring the poor bartender in a chokehold as Aleko leaned up to whisper into his ear, "Do you know about the Iceman? If you do, you know what I can do. Now, tell me what I want to know."

The bartender went stark white. EVERYONE in the Confederation knew THAT particular code-name! "I don't know anything!" he then rasped out.

"Everyone in all the bars on this colony told me that if you want _anything_ brought in or taken out which might be even _remotely_ illegal, you come here!" Aleko hissed as his fingers began to press certain nerve clusters on the bartender's arms to increase the pain. "Karosur himself was known to come here. So, tell me, who did he work for? Who's Mansur working for?"

"I . . . don't know!" he moaned. "Karosur only used me as a courier to smuggle stuff through."

"What stuff?"

"I don't know. It was always in small boxes. Y'know, the ones used to carry computer storage disks."

"What was on them?"

The older man began to shake. "You crazy! I just move stuff when stuff can't get off this dirtball! I don't look at it! Even if it's alive, I don't touch it! If I did, I'd be as dead as Karosur!"

Aleko took that in, and then he nodded. "Good survival technique. So, where did you send it?"

"I ain't telling!"

The grip tightened. "WHERE!"

"To the Homeworld!"

"WHERE!"

"Sulanda!"

"WHO!"

"I don't know!" the older man wailed. "I was told to send it to a postal depot in Sulanda!"

"Who sent it? Mansur?"

"No! The packages always had his logo, but . . . the guy who sends them's someone named Diasur."

And with that, the hold on his arms vanished. "Thank you."

Surprise crossed the bartender's face. "That's it?" he demanded. "Who're you working for?"

A calm shrug as Aleko drew his communicator. "I could tell you . . . but if I did, I'd then have to kill you!" he quipped before a viperous look appeared in his eyes. "Besides, I'm not finished with you yet. I happen to have two friends in orbit who'd like to talk to you . . . once I get in touch with them."

The bartender gulped.

* * *

An hour or so later . . .

Hazel, Althea and Aleko stepped out of the bar, they noticeably more content. It hadn't taken the hunters long to get the bartender to tell them what they wanted to know in the privacy of a back room while Aleko had kept the bouncers and waitresses at bay.

"So that's what Mansur's doing," Hazel mused as they headed back to their beam-down point. "He's laundering money."

"And covering his tracks by having the people he's bought off in Colonial Security blow up the buildings he's been doing his laundering in," Aleko added. "That way, no one would notice it. Plus he's having one of his lieutenants doing it for him."

"There's another problem," Althea said. "Why's he laundering money? Why's he sending it to Sulanda?"

"If only we had access to information on some of the clients in his banks," Hazel said. "I'm sure we could run a background check on them and find out which accounts he was laundering money in."

"We don't have enough to run Mansur in," Althea warned.

"Maybe not now," Aleko objected. "Still, I think we should pay a visit to Diasur."

* * *

As they were heading back to the _Perseverance_, a certain bartender was making a call.

"What is it?" Diasur angrily asked. Like most people, he didn't like to have his sleep disturbed this early in the morning.

"It's me," the bartender began. "You know that Yehisrite and those two hunters looking for the bombers? They paid me a visit! They forced me to spill all I know! They know you put a hit on Karosur, and they know I pipelined your disks to Sulanda!"

"I see. Don't worry! They're bluffing. They don't know a thing about what we're doing. Relax!"

* * *

Aleko blinked as something in his clothes beeped. "Who's paging you?" Hazel asked. "I didn't think people like you needed pagers."

"It's not a pager." He pulled out a small box from one of his pockets. "It's a tracker. I snuck a bug onto that bartender's phone in case he used it to contact one of the people he's involved with."

"Did he?" Althea asked.

"Yep."

"Who?"

"Who else?"

"What do we do?" Hazel asked.

"It's time we made a collar," Aleko replied as he pointed Hazel and Althea back towards the bar.

* * *

Next morning . . .

In one of the richer sections of Colony 100's capital city, Diasur woke from a restful night's sleep. As his maids began to get his breakfast ready and prepare his clothes for the coming day, he stepped out of his bedroom to enter the living room. "Good morning, Lord Diasur," one of his maids greeted him cheerfully.

"Good morning," he replied in his usual gruff manner. Diasur rarely addressed his maids by their name; he didn't feel it was professional to refer to workers that way. It would give ideas above their station in life. "Has the morning news arrived?"

"Yes, sir. It's displayed on the dining room table unit, as always."

"Thanks."

In an elaborately decorated dining room, Diasur sat at a wide table to gaze over the morning news via a desk-mounted computer terminal as breakfast was set out for him. It was not unusual for Diasur to read the news while he was enjoying breakfast; he always wanted to keep on top of what was going on throughout the Confederation and beyond as he ate. This day's headline, however . . .

The headline: **_COLONIAL SECURITY ON THE TAKE!_**

A sub-headline: **_PURGE HAS BEGUN!_**

"What's this?" Diasur gasped. _Couldn't be!_ he mentally thundered. _Those other officers captured by that fake Yehisrite and Nassur's hunters hadn't known how many people we had under our control . . ._

A finger tapped a button on his computer. The screen flicked for a second, it then displaying an early morning children's show running on one of Vos' private entertainment networks. He immediately changed the channel to one of the news stations. Appearing there was footage of several members of the CCS being led away in handcuffs by co-workers. "Forty-five members of the CCS on Colony 100 have been arrested in connection with the series of bombing involving the Mansur Development Bank Corporation there and several other nearby colonies," a commentator's voice echoed from the speakers flanking the screens. "This is thought to be the biggest case of corruption ever to have occurred since before the Mikado took power . . . "

"Can't be!" Diasur gasped. "I've got to call Mansur."

"Go ahead," a woman bid him over the sound of a weapon's safety being clicked off. "Call Mansur."

He spun around to see Hazel, Althea and Aleko standing there, weapons out and aimed at him. Aleko's personal weapon looked very much like a Terran automatic pistol. Both of Diasur's maids were standing by the doors, their hands in the air. "We'd like that," Hazel added. "VERY much."

"What are you doing here!" he demanded, though his hands had risen clear of the computer. Diasur knew he could be seen as corrupt. An idiot, he wasn't. They had him. It made sense not to deny anything.

"You're under arrest," Althea announced as she moved to put the cuffs on.

He didn't resist her. "The charges?"

"Murder, plus conspiring with those responsible for the bombings on the banks here and elsewhere."

* * *

Several hours later . . .

Aleko, Hazel and Althea met with the Chief of Colonial Security in the interrogation wing of the local CCS station. All the rooms were filled as Diasur found himself being questioned alongside dozens of other officers from CSS caught in the net with him. "Chief," Hazel inquired as soon as they got together in the hallway near the holding cells. "How's the interrogation of Diasur going?"

"Not good," the older woman replied. "Diasur admitted to having Karosur killed and to helping with the bombings, but . . . "

"But?" Althea prodded.

"He won't mention anything about Mansur's role in it."

"The big fish is trying to escape," Aleko quipped. "Have you tried everything to find out anything about a link to Mansur?"

"Everything except torture and mind-probing," the chief replied. "And that's because both are against Vosian law. Even still, I've sent personnel to the space port to make sure Mansur doesn't try to skip the colony as soon as the news broke of the arrests."

"Would you mind if I had a go?"

The chief looked at Aleko. "You? I know you're An'san-Mikado and all that, but you're not really a security officer. And you're an alien to boot! It wouldn't look good if I officially let an alien 'amateur'" -- she made finger-quotes -- "Do a criminal interrogation."

A nod. "I understand."

"Good." She smiled, pointing Aleko in the right direction. "He's in that room over there; number seven. I don't know what goes on in criminal interrogations on your homeworld, but please: no torture."

"I won't harm a hair on his head," he vowed with a wink before he headed into the holding room.

No one noticed the cold sparkle glimmering in his eyes.

* * *

He emerged five minutes later, the same smile he had when he went in still on his face. "He talked."

Shocked looks responded. "He did?" the security chief gasped. "Just like that!"

"Just like that," he parroted before adding, "With help from a little cold-hearted friend of mine." To Hazel and Althea: "Let's go."

"Where to?" Hazel asked.

"To get Mansur and end this," he replied. "We have enough to put him away."

"It's about time!" Althea said as the three headed out.

"I'll send a squad to follow you," the chief called out after them.

"Appreciated!" Aleko called back.

The security chief watched them disappear around a corner, thinking to herself, _HE'S the Iceman of the An'san-Mikado! I should've known._ A pause. _Still . . . I didn't think he was so . . . **normal**!_

* * *

An hour later . . .

At Mansur's home, the air seemed thick with tension; his servants had told him about Diasur's arrest as well as the purge of anyone remotely having a connection with the recent bombings.

It was obvious to him: he needed a way to get off the colony!

But how! Where would he go?

For once, Mansur had lost control. If he was arrested, their plans would be dead. Just like Karosur.

He needed advice.

In his office, he accessed his private phone link to his leader in Sulanda. "I hope he's home . . . "

He then gulped as he pressed the speed dial switch to access his hidden leader's line. It took almost an eternity as the satellites orbiting Colony 100 sent the signal to the distant Homeworld. It took yet ANOTHER eternity for the phone to begin to ring. As he waited, he ordered his videoscreen to lower from the ceiling, it hanging in front of the window behind his desk.

* * *

At the main gate . . .

"It looks like he's still here," Hazel declared after locking on Mansur with her powers. "The big fish is in the net."

"Should we ring the bell to get them to open the gate?" Althea mockingly asked.

"On my planet, some cultures believe it's bad manners to ring a doorbell or knock on the door," Aleko stated as he pulled out his favoured weapon to blast open the lock with one shot. Hazel and Althea both jumped at the thunderous sound the Israeli Military Industries Desert Eagle Mark XIX .357 Magnum made when it discharged. Once freed of the lock's grip, the doors swung open.

"You're pretty good with that thing," Hazel quipped.

"Practice makes perfect," he noted.

Hazel nodded as she gunned their hovercar's motor, sending it thundering through the half-open gate. As soon as the way was clear, the hovercar flew down the driveway towards the mansion.

Unfortunately for them . . .

* * *

"Sir, someone's burst through the front gates!" a harried guard announced over the intercom. "CCS's coming in right behind them!"

"Hold them off!" Mansur ordered. "I'll try to find a way to get myself out of here!"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"This is too easy!" Hazel warned. "Mansur's GOT to have some delaying tactic so he can escape!"

"I think it's coming up now," Althea warned, her eyes glowing.

"Duck!" Aleko yelled.

They dropped behind the hovercar's dashboard as they drew their weapons. Just in time: two dozen security guards surged out from their hiding places as the hovercar soared towards the mansion. Weapons erupted, they doing not much damage save for dents and the windows and headlights getting shot out. Finally, the hovercar slid to a halt right at the mansion's front door. Silence then fell over the scene. The guards blinked, many of them automatically lowering their weapons as they moved towards the vehicle.

Their attackers then surged up from their hiding places, weapons firing! To their credit, the members of Mansur's security force did do their best to try and stop Hazel, Althea and Aleko from entering the mansion. Unfortunately, even their best wasn't good enough against them. By the time Colonial Security arrived to arrest the survivors, the three young warriors were dashing inside.

Entering the foyer with weapons drawn, Hazel, Althea and Aleko came up on a couple of maids emerging from a side room, scaring the poor women out of their wits. "Where's Mansur?" Aleko automatically demanded.

"W-we don't know," one girl stammered. "He's not in this part of the building."

Hazel's eyes glowed. "Other side of the mansion! He's not moving."

"Be careful," Aleko warned. "He could be doing anything, including trying to commit suicide."

"Understood!" Hazel turned to Althea. "You stay here to coordinate the Colonial Security teams."

A nod. "Be careful, Kuriicha. Nobody on Home Base would forgive me if you get killed here."

Hazel smiled. "I didn't know you cared, Althea."

"Hey, I'm gonna live to see you recognize someone and get married, remember? Don't blow it by dying!"

Hazel laughed as she and Aleko raced off. "Is she always like that?" he then probed.

A chuckle. "Sometimes, she's worse!"

* * *

The video feed was grainy; someone just walking into the room would have trouble getting a clear enough picture of whom Mansur was talking to. "I see..." the figure in the video feed replied. "Our plans were getting closer to coming true. Even if we lose everything on Colony 100, I can still pull things off here. The only thing we can't afford to lose is you. You know what to do . . . "

"I do," Mansur replied, his voice full of regret and understanding. "I must not be taken alive. If I can't get off Colony 100 and find my way back to Sulanda, I must never live to get interrogated."

"Regrettable. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten."

"I understand." Mansur smiled as he turned to a hidden drawer in his desk. There, he kept a gun handy for just this kind of emergencies. "I'll shoot myself out with this if I have to and rush to the spaceport in hopes I can get off this . . . "

The door exploded! "Mansur!" Hazel snapped as she locked on him with her pistol, Aleko doing the same. "You're under arrest for money laundering and destroying public property. Surrender now!"

Mansur spun around. "On whose orders?"

"By order of the government of Colony One-hundred."

"I see." A serene smile then crossed his face. "You think you have me, eh? I'm not so easy to capture . . . " His hand shot up, the gun in his palm as he bore-sighted it on Hazel.

Three weapons barked out at once!

Mansur's buzzed over Hazel's head.

Hazel's went wide to hit the videoscreen Mansur had been using to speak to his hidden leader.

Aleko's did not.

* * *

To the person in Sulanda, contact with Mansur was immediately lost . . .

But not before he saw Hazel taking her shot.

"M-Mansur!" the figure gasped in horror. "It can't be!" His fists clenched. "You will pay for that, Kuriinba of Kyotos! You'll pay for killing my son! I swear you will, even if I have to go through Time Itself to make it happen! **You -- will -- pay!**"

* * *

Hazel sneezed as Aleko leaned down to check Mansur's body for signs of life. The field agent of the An'san-Mikado was quick to realize that his shooting was, as always, a little too accurate; the bullet from his pistol had gone through the heart. "He's gone," Aleko said. "Sorry. I was trying to wound him."

"So was I," she mused. "Can't be helped. I've a feeling we just made sure history is correct."

Aleko gazed quizzically at her.

* * *

Next day . . .

Aleko and Hazel were found to have fired their weapons in self-defence by the proper authorizes.

With the last of Mansur's henchmen currently cooling their heels in jail awaiting trial, the mission was done and it was time to move on. At the colony spaceport, Hazel and Aleko walked into the hangar bay together to say their goodbyes before boarding their respective ships. Ironically, he was STILL in disguise despite the job being over. "I'm glad it's done," she mused with a relieved sigh as they walked towards _Perseverance_. "Unfortunately, we couldn't find out who Mansur was talking to in Sulanda, much less why Mansur was laundering money. None of his cronies knew anything about it."

"I've a feeling we'll find out," he noted. "Someday."

"So." She gazed on him. "I guess this is goodbye." Hazel smiled knowingly. "Corporal McTavish."

Silence. "You remembered me?" Jamie asked as he gazed in amusement at her. After she gave him a nod, he smirked. "I'm quite flattered, Miss Hazel. By the way, I'm a staff-sergeant at the Academy these days."

"I AM a hunter, remember?" Her smile grew wider as she added, "It's my job to find the truth." Concern then flashed in her eyes. "Jamie, why can't you join us on Home Base? Why work for the An'san-Mikado? We could use more people like you."

He remained silent for a moment, and then he breathed out, "To be honest, I've always been tempted to work for you people. And believe me, I was flattered beyond belief when you gave me that offer. Turning it down -- both times, actually . . . "

Hazel tensed on seeing pain flash in his eyes. "Jamie, I . . . "

"You know about Sandra, don't you?"

The hunter blinked as that name washed through her, and then she nodded. "I grieve with thee," she formally declared in Old Vosian.

"My thanks, honoured warrior," he replied in kind; Kyoosur had taught him the ancient tongue over many wonderful summers on the shores of Lake Dvorak near Pashansho. A lifetime ago to the Canadian. "Well, because of that," -- he switched back to modern Vosian. "There are things I have to clear out of my heart and mind first. Working for you people . . . ?" He shook his head. "I'd be a disruption. After all you people've been through, that would be unfair. Like it or not, being part of the An'san-Mikado . . . "

"Is the best for you at this time," she finished.

"Yes. By the way, I heard the good news about Nassur and his wife. Congratulations."

Hazel blinked, and then she beamed. "Thanks! Actually, I'm going to visit them on Earth." A shrug. "Who knows? You'll head back to Earth sooner or later, I guess. Maybe we can meet each other again there."

He considered that for a moment. "I'd look forward to that. It's a small universe, after all." Evergreen eyes then flecked over to gaze into deep azure ones. "Until such a chance comes, IF it comes, Miss Hazel, please . . . don't expect much from me."

"I understand," she said as she held out her hand. "Still, stranger things can happen . . . "

He grasped her hand, and then lifted it to bestow a courtly kiss on her fingers. Their eyes locked again. Then, their hands dropped as their faces seemed to drift towards the other's.

Before their lips could make contact, though . . .

"Hey, Kuriinba!" Althea yelled from the _Perseverance_. "You coming or are you gonna moon with your new boyfriend in the spaceport all day! I thought you wanted to go to Earth after this was over!"

They paused. Jamie then sighed. "Don't you just HATE that?"

Hazel breathed out, "I do." A wink. "Maybe next time, Jamie."

"Maybe next time," he echoed her. "Safe journey, Hazel."

"You, too."

The Canadian stepped back as he watched Hazel run into the _Perseverance_. His eyes then flicked up to the cockpit. Sure enough, as the ship began to taxi to a lift-off point, a familiar face appeared at one of the windows. She waved. He waved back, and then he stepped back, his eyes following _Perseverance_ as it began lift-off procedures. His eyes remained locked on the hunters' frigate as it soared into the sky and disappear into the heavens. _She has beautiful eyes_, he mused. _I'm glad I kept my disguise on . . . yet I'm disappointed that I kept doing so even after it stopped being necessary. After Sandra, I don't think I could take having a Vosian recognize me so quickly, let alone meeting some girl on Earth._ Turning away as he headed to where the _An-qil Ufpif_ was parked, he stopped as something came to him. _Going to Earth to meet her stepparents, eh?_ A shrug. _Oh, well. Maybe we'll be just friends from now on . . ._

_Maybe . . ._

Jamie sighed as he turned to boards his ship for his next mission.

_**The End . . . For Now**_

**

* * *

WRITERS' NOTES: And so the story begins to come full-circle . . .**

1) The North-West Mounted Police exists today as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

2) Some translations:

**Qu'f-Piaqu'r** . . . Literally, "fire-stick." A breech-loading weapon firing particle-photon based rounds; it would, from a distance, resemble an 1870s-era Snider-Enfield .577 rifled musket then in service with the British Army. Ataru used this type of weapon in UY-TSY.

**butsudan** . . . a shrine normally found in most Japanese homes that serves as a personal place for people to mourn lost relatives.

**ihai** . . . a special memorial tablet which bears the posthumous name of the deceased.

3) Robert Land Academy does exist; it's located in the Township of West Lincoln in Ontario's Niagara Region, eight kilometres west of Wellandport and 20 kilometres from Welland. Fred attended the school between 1980-84. In the context of UY20YL, RLA (as the Academy is short-formed) has a girls'-only sister school, Laura Secord Academy (LSA). This is Sandra's alma mater. In real life, LSA doesn't exist.


	3. Desperately Seeking A Baby

Late summer in Tomobiki . . .

In the former town park -- these days, addressed as Tomobiki Heroes' Park; it had been renamed in the wake of the Battle of Uru in April 1985 -- the weather was just starting to cool from the torrid heat of mid-summer. People were dressed in reflection of that change: sleeved shirts and legged pants were currently the order of the day. Located in the centre of the park, close to a reflective pool, stood two impressive statues. Between then was a sign on a pedestal:

**Nassur** of Vos and **Shigaten Benten** of Fukunokami  
To two of the greatest heroes known  
_Wherever You Go, You Are There  
_Donated by the Moroboshi Clan

Reading this, oddly enough, was one of those the statues were erected in honour of. Benten was dressed in her usual grey sleeved battle suit -- a birthday present from Moroboshi Ataru given to her a day before the infamous Spirit-War of Halloween 1983 -- overlaid with a traditional red-and-black battle bikini, a silver chain draped across her chest. After reading the sign, she looked up to her replica.

"It's hard to cope with what you've lost when there's things like this hanging around to remind you about it," she mused aloud.

She took the opportunity to gaze around the park. To her eyes, Heroes' Park seemed to be filled with young couples accompanied by infants or newborn children, they in strollers or being carried around. _So much has changed_, she mused to herself. _Being Vosian, Nassur's more used to this than I am, but . . . _

She then took note of a young couple, they having stopped by the fence around the reflective pool across from where the hunters' statues stood. A little girl in a stroller accompanied them. Despite their being Japanese -- to Benten, at least -- they both looked as if they could vaguely pass for the hunters themselves, their daughter a young Junba. Canting her head, she listened in on their conversation:

The mother: "Our baby's so cute! Isn't she, dear?"

The father: "She's just like her mother. She'll break a few hearts when she grows up."

They moved away. Benten's eyes remained locked on them as depression overcame her. _No one understands how I feel_, the Fukunokami moaned. _No one can understand what I've lost . . . _

A sigh fluttered from her lips, and then she perked on hearing someone calling for her. Benten turned to watch as Junba ran up to her. The younger woman was dressed in her winter seifuku, a dark blue suit with a red scarf tied around her blouse. Her school briefcase swings from one hand. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mom!" she hailed as she stopped before Benten. "Everyone at school was bugging me again."

Benten seemed indifferent. "Yeah."

"Is something wrong, Mom?" Junba wondered, she quickly noting the lack of excitement in her mother's voice. "You sound sad."

"Of course, I'm sad!" Benten snapped. "Wouldn't YOU be sad if you lost something precious to you?!"

Confusion flashed across Junba's face. "'Precious?'" she asked. "What did you lose? You didn't lose your wedding ring, did you?"

"No, it's not that!"

"Then what did you lose?"

"You REALLY want to know?"

"I'm your daughter. I'm supposed to care for my mother's feelings."

"I've lost . . . " Benten then stammered as her voice choked on a sob. "Lost . . . lost my baby!"

Silence fell as Junba considered what her mother just said. "No, you haven't!" she cheerfully declared. "I'm still your baby."

An angry gaze then came her way from Benten. "That's not the point!" she growled. "The baby I remember -- the one I ejected into an escape pod! -- was only a few months old! You're nearly full grown!"

A sigh. "I see."

Benten's hands then landed on Junba's shoulders. "Can't you go back to being that child?"

A sympathetic look crossed the younger woman's face. "I can't. Vosians are like everyone else. We grow only one way: Older."

Hearing that shattered the grip Benten had over her emotions. "Mom!" Junba moves to comfort her. "You've been acting like this for days! Let me help you! I know nothing can make up for those lost years being a prisoner of Elle, but . . . "

Before she could finish, Benten turns and flees from the park. Tears marked her passing like raindrops in an autumn shower. "Mom! Wait!" Junba cried out.

To no avail; Benten vanished around a corner. _Mom_, Junba moaned. _Why won't you tell us what's bothering you?_

* * *

Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later  
**Desperately Seeking A Baby!  
**By Mike Smith

C&C by Fred Herriot and Sean Gaffney

Third of a series of fan fiction stories based on _Urusei Yatsura_, created by Takahashi Rumiko.

* * *

At the Miyake home, Junba stepped inside to see her foster mother and her real father waiting for her. Shinobu was busy preparing supper while Nassur was engrossed with a copy of the day's _Yomiuri Shimbun_. "Oh! It's you, Ju-chan," he called out, glancing over his shoulder to reveal his eyes glowing. "Where's Benten?" 

"Mom won't come home with me," Junba replied as she removed her shoes and set her pack aside.

"What?"

She stepped inside to sit beside her father. "I think there's something wrong with Mom."

"What could be wrong?" Nassur asked. "She's free from cryo-suspension, she's with her daughter and friends . . . "

"I don't know. She said something about being sad that I had grown up."

Shinobu stepped in. "I've noticed Benten seems to be harbouring a lot of resentment towards me," she noted. "Could it be she's angry at me for raising Junba?"

"Could be," Nassur mused. "I've noticed the change in her behaviour as well. She's become withdrawn and sad. Sleeping with her is like sleeping with an icebox."

The nurse/princess took that in with a blink. "Surprising from the girl who used to worship the ground you stood on."

"True." A contemplative look crossed Nassur's face as he considered the point. "Benten's never been a brooding girl before. It seems the Benten I married is gone, replaced by a different Benten altogether."

"What can we do?" Junba asked. "I know she's my real mom, but physically and emotionally, she's barely older than I am. There's nothing in the school's ethics textbooks to cover this sort of thing."

"Unfortunately," Nassur warned, "Benten's not one to keep things inside of her for long. She needs to explode . . . and I'm afraid that the longer it takes for her to do that, the more trouble we'll be in."

* * *

An explosion! 

This blast was not caused by the combustion of gas or chemicals, but by the massed collision of a bucketful of little silver balls in a pachinko machine in an arcade. Benten was playing one particular machine, filling her bucket at an almost impossible speed. Her playing skill had come to attract a group of teenaged boys, all of them amazed by how well she was playing this popular Japanese game.

"Shit!" one boy gasped. "She's broken the jackpot record!"

"About time," Benten muttered as she sat back in her chair, and then she reached down to pick up her prize bowl. "Took me a friggin' hour to do it."

A handsome young Japanese boy, looking about the same age as Junba chronologically, walked up to her. "Hey, lady," he called out in a flirting way. "Wanna go somewhere and celebrate with your prize money?"

An amused look answered. _When I was born_, Benten thought, _That kid's parents were probably still wetting their diapers!_ "Sorry," she spoke with a light smile as the hand with her cygnet eye wedding ring came up so he could see it. "Already taken."

The group of boys, on seeing that, quickly dispersed. "Shit!" one hissed. "Already taken?!"

"So young, too," another lamented. "Our youth's crumbling away!"

Benten watched them go, and then she headed over to the cashier. After getting her prize money, she then headed out of the arcade -- and nearly walked right into a very pregnant, red-haired Seishin-Urusian woman. "Oh, Ran!" the hunter gasped, she instantly recognizing her old galactic middle school classmate.

The former Aruka Ran -- currently Seq Ran; "Mrs. Rei" as Urusian tradition normally demanded other people address her -- these days looked pretty much the same as she did seventeen years before, save for the obvious affects her third pregnancy was forcing on her. She was dressed currently in a yellow maternity gown. Her eyes narrowed as she peered at Benten, and then, as recognition -- and no, we don't mean the Vosian type! -- came to her, a sneer then curled her lips. "Oh, it's you," she coldly noted. "Still hanging around arcades, I see. Isn't that a little _young_ for you?"

Benten jolted as her old rival's words sank in, and then a smirk crossed her face as she crossed her arms. "Hey! You're just jealous of the fact that _I_ still look like a teenager and you're old and frumpy!"

Ran's cheeks flushed. "Who's old and frumpy?!" she roared, her fangs barred, and then she harrumphed as she looked away from Benten. "I'll let you know that _I_ still have young men asking me for dates," -- she turned to gaze back on her old rival. "Even _now_ that I'm soon due to give birth!"

"What do you do with their walking canes?"

Ran shuddered. "Why don't you go home and bug Shinobu?"

"I'm having too much fun bothering you," Benten said. "Can we talk?"

Ran took that in, and then she breathed out, "Oh, I suppose so. I could use the company." She then glared at the hunter. "But any stupid jokes about stretch marks, thunder-thighs, or anything like that and I'll make you wish you stayed frozen on planet Elle! Understand?"

Benten clearly wasn't impressed. "Jeez! You're touchy when you're pregnant, aren't you?"

* * *

At the Moroboshi home, the family was finishing up a serving of sukiyaki. Lum, she noticeably pregnant and wearing a tiger-striped maternity dress, stood up to begin clearing dishes. "That was good, Mom," Amora declared before a burp escaped her; she had finished first. 

"Glad you liked it, Amora," Lum said, smiling. "How about you, Darling?"

Another burp from the head of the household was all the answer she needed. "Excellent, Lum," he declared, grinning. "Hard to believe that you were once such a terrible cook."

"Well, even with Noa's help through the Dreamscape after we bonded, it took me a while to get used to cooking Earth food. It's a lot different than Oni food."

"That's for sure," Amora mused before her eyes began to glow.

Ataru noticed. "Who is it? Not Seiteki or Jehovah's Witnesses, I hope."

"It's Junba," the empath answered.

The front door then opened and closed. "Konban wa!" Junba called out from the foyer as she slipped off her shoes, and then she stepped into the living room. "I'm here for my lesson."

"Konban wa, Junba," Lum called over. "We were just finishing dinner."

"I'll clean up, Mom," Amora volunteered as she took the dishes from Lum.

"Thanks," Lum said as the younger woman carried them away. "I'll go change into my leotard."

The Oni then flew upstairs to her bedroom. "If it still _fits_ her," Ataru muttered under his breath before he turned to gaze on Junba. "How's living with your real parents been lately?"

"Well," Junba mused as she moved to sit beside him. "I've had no real problems having my father around, but . . . " She frowned. "I _am_ having problems with my real mother."

An eyebrow arched. "What's wrong with Benten?"

"I think she's having trouble accepting me as a teenager."

Ataru considered that for a moment. "I'm not surprised," he then noted. "She's had over seventeen years of her life cut away from her -- and there's no way for her to reclaim them."

"She knows that, Uncle Ataru," Junba said; outside school, the class representative for this year's Class 2-4 could relax with the formality. "Still, I really don't think she's accepted it yet!"

He nodded before stretching himself. "Well, your mother needs time to cope with her new surroundings, Aiotoga. Just be patient with her. Losing a child is hard." A sigh. "I should know."

Junba nodded; like everyone of her generation currently living in Tomobiki, she had heard the awful story about how Ataru and Lum had lost their first natural child -- a girl they were planning to name Koishii -- thanks to a miscarriage at the Battle of Uru. "I know. But how long do I have to wait before she realizes that?"

Before he could answer her, Lum came downstairs, she wearing a pair of tiger-striped bicycle shorts and a baggy T-shirt. "I'm ready!" She then breathed out. "Too big now to fit into my leotard."

"Don't worry, Sensei! That'll do!" Junba declared.

The two then moved to head into the back yard. "Hey, Aiotoga!" Ataru called out after them. "Please be gentle with my wife! She _is_ pregnant, remember?"

"I'll try!" Junba vowed as Lum grinned.

"Oh, another thing," he added. "If you need help coping with your real parents, we're always here."

Junba beamed. "Thanks!"

* * *

Ran's residence had always been her pink-hulled scout ship, it having been grounded for some time. The lawns and gardens around it were well maintained. Inside, the ship was decorated with beautiful furnishings and plants, clearly set up with an eye for tranquillity. In the living room, Ran was serving tea to Benten. "There you go," she cheerfully announced. "So what do you want to talk about?" 

Benten took the cup, she giving Ran a look. "Ran, how many kids do you have?"

"This'll be my fourth," Ran reported as she sat down, her hand gliding over her stomach. "Rin and Ren are the oldest. Ron-chan's been the youngest and my only daughter. Until this one's born."

"Did you get to raise them all?"

"Of course," Ran answered before she giggled. "Who else is going to raise my kids? Besides, Rei-chan's always in space with the Urusian Defence Force."

Ran then took notice of Benten's change of expression into one of outrage and jealousy. "What's that face for?!" she defensively asked. "It's scaring the kid!"

Benten bolted up, the suddenness of her action making her host cower. "Ran, I hate you!"

"Benten," Ran asked, her voice sweet enough to mask her fear. "What's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

Hands slammed into the table. "Why does a vindictive airhead like **you** get to raise her kids from birth to teenage years and **I** don't?!"

"What?!"

The table quaked again from the Fukunokami's fists smashing into them. Ran could not help but notice the aura of anger surrounding her guest. "You've got a happy family that you've grown up with! All I've got is a grown-up daughter raised by someone else!"

Hearing that, Ran rose to glare her former classmate down, fangs barred. "Well, excuse **me** for not getting trapped in a cryo-chamber for seventeen years like you did!"

"That's a low blow!"

"Look, Benten," Ran snapped, she slamming her hands on the table. "Obliviously, your brain must still be frozen to keep from understanding that time doesn't stand still for _you_ or anyone!"

That was enough to deflate Benten's outburst. "Sorry, Ran," she apologized as she sank back into her chair. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I guess I've been a rotten guest." With that, she rose to exit. "Excuse me." And with that, she disappeared through the quarterdeck hatchway.

"Benten," Ran whispered. "Let us help you . . .!"

Rain echoed on a nearby window.

* * *

The rain continued to fall as Benten trudged through the streets of Tomobiki. Her battle suit gave her some protection from the downpour. Some protection, not all. Stopping at a bridge over the raging Tomobiki-gawa to watch the water pass under, she sighed. _Why couldn't things have stayed the same?_

* * *

Hours later, Benten returned to the Miyake house. The lights were on but it was quiet. Pulling out the key to unlock the door, she moved to open it -- just as the door whipped open to reveal Nassur standing there, he holding a sleeping Junba in one of his arms, she still clad in her leotard. The older hunter's eyes shifted from glowing green to blue. "It's late and you're soaked to the skin," he stated without preamble on seeing that Benten had been standing out in the rain for a long time. 

"Will you quit sneaking up on me like that?" Benten muttered as she stepped into the house, closing the door behind them.

"I stayed up waiting for you," Nassur reported as he watched Benten remove her drenched jacket. "Junba tried to do the same, but she conked out hours ago. Shinobu's also in bed."

"Sorry, I was busy," she apologized as they entered the living room. "Lost track of time."

"You know Junba was worried about you," he sternly reminded her. "She's upset by your behaviour recently. She's not the only one. Ran was also upset about that little visit you gave her. I know that you aren't the best of friends, but at least you should be civil with her."

She spun on him. "Since when do _you_ care about Ran? You and her NEVER get along."

"I care ever since you started acting like you've got a bigger-than-usual chip on your shoulder," he replied. "What's up?"

"You wouldn't understand what I'm going through right now."

"I can try. I AM your husband, remember? And this is our daughter," he announced as he shifted Junba in his arms, he nodding towards their child.

"She's my daughter in terms of birthing," she coldly announced. "But she's Shinobu's daughter now."

"Benten, don't say that!"

"It's true!" The Fukunokami then sneezed. "Look," she muttered as she wiped her nose clean. "I wanna take a hot bath before I catch a cold. Put Aiotoga to bed and we'll talk about this in the morning."

"Fine," the Vosian replied. "I'll be waiting."

Benten watched him carry Junba into her room. _At least he doesn't have any competition to be her father_, she mused to herself. _Like I do with being her mother._

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Benten and Nassur headed down to the Tokyo Starship Construction Yards. The slipways hummed with activity as crews busied themselves with several vessels. Included among them was the _Lum-san_'s sister ship, the future U.N.S.S. _Ran-san_. Benten yawned as she and her husband passed through the main gates, the former looking like she had gotten little sleep the previous night. On the other hand, Nassur was fresh and alert. 

"You awake, Benten?" he prodded her with a nudge of an elbow.

She stifled another yawn. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

"Maybe that'll teach you to stay out in the rain until the wee hours of the morning."

As they walked along, Benten took a chance to inspect her surroundings. Quickly noticeable to the Fukunokami was the usage of the large robotic exoskeletons, known in Japan and elsewhere as "labors," being used to aid the construction crews. "So what're we doing here?" she then asked.

"We're looking at the new version of the _Renegade_, remember?" he reminded her as he led his wife towards one slipway. "The old one got totalled."

A groan. "Don't remind me!"

They soon arrived at Slip Nine, both stopping to take a chance to gaze on the newest version of the Independent Starship _Renegade_. Although barely more than a duranium skeleton, _Renegade_ looked quite impressive. Crews, both in labors and on feet, busily worked together under the guidance of the starship's primary designer, Kakugari Daremo, he currently standing beside a foreman. "Keep those beams as straight as possible and fuse them together using the lasers," the heavyset member of Lum's bodyguards reminded the yard worker beside him. "If they're off even by a micron, it can affect the ship's performance."

"Yes, sir."

The foreman headed off. Kakugari then turned to see Nassur and Benten. Grinning delightedly, the architect rushed over to them. "Nassur! Benten! Glad you both could make it!"

He nearly crushed them with a bear hug. "Thanks," Nassur groaned. "Could you let us go now?"

"You're crushing us!" Benten moaned.

"Sorry," Kakugari apologized as he released them. "I'm just glad to see you two."

"Right." Nassur took a deep breath. "How's it going?"

Their host pulled out a datapadd from his jacket pocket. "Fine," he replied as he keyed the machine to show what was there to his guests. "We're working on _Renegade_ as fast as possible."

"She looks good so far," Benten noted.

"Despite the change of looks from what you had," -- Nassur and Benten knew the new _Renegade_ would be wedge-shaped, blessed with flared wings and a twin-tail assembly akin to the American Lockheed F-22 Raptor -- "She's basically an updated version of the old _Renegade_. We're having engineers from Vos come here in a few weeks to install the warp drive and all the weapons systems. Nobody here knows how they work, though we hope to change that in the next few years as people finally start graduating from warp engineering and military engineering courses at the major universities on Uru and Noukiios."

"What are the improvements?" Nassur asked.

Kakugari swelled up with pride as his fingers danced over the padd. "If all goes according to what we have in mind, this version of _Renegade_ will be ten percent faster, possess shields that are fifteen percent stronger, and her engines will be twenty-three percent more efficient than her predecessor."

"We'll be a match with any ship of our type," Benten noted, a gleeful look crossing her face.

"We're fitting her to house a crew of twelve," Kakugari added. "Nagaiwakai-sama insisted on it; she guessed you'd want some of the hybrids to work with you."

"Can hardly wait!" Nassur said, smiling. "How long until she's ready, Daremo?"

A far-away look crossed the architect's face. "She'll be complete by the start of December. We'll aim for a launch/commission date around Christmas Day. Definitely before New Year's."

"That quick?"

"We're having the Vosians helping us, remember?"

Both men laughed. Benten then breathed out, "I'm heading out."

"Where are you going?" Nassur asked.

"I'd thought I'd go visit Aiotoga at the school," Benten replied. "Then maybe look at some air bikes. I wonder if Earth's developed any good models yet. See you!"

She waved as she headed off. "Have a good time!" Nassur called out as he returned the gesture.

* * *

An hour later, after a quick trip up through Tokyo's intricate subway network, Benten stepped through the front gate of Tomobiki High School. It was easy for her to take note that, though the faces of the students and teachers may have changed a lot since she was taken prisoner by Elle, the school itself looked the same as it always did. Walking towards the front doors, Benten quickly spotted Lum and Ataru sitting on the front steps having tea together. "Yo!" the hunter called out as she waved to them both. 

"Hello, Benten," Lum hailed back.

"Hi, Benten," Ataru chimed in turn. "What brings you here?"

"I just thought I'd look in on Aiotoga and see how she's doing. You know where she might be?"

Ataru considered that for a moment. "I think she should be in gym class," he announced. "They're probably at the baseball diamond."

"Thanks," the Fukunokami said with a nod as she turned to head off.

"Hey, Benten!" Ataru called after her. "If you see Amora around, tell her to get to gym class!" On seeing their friend's eyebrow arch in curiosity, he added, "She keeps skipping it!"

Benten gave them a wave. "Sure thing!"

Minutes later, Benten walked to the baseball diamond. There, she saw that the girls of Junba's class -- they dressed in blue gym shorts embossed with the Tomobiki High school logo over the left leg, plain white T-shirts and white running shoes; the school had done away with bloomers five years ago -- playing an impromptu game of baseball. Benten positioned herself behind the backstop. Junba was playing shortstop. _She likes to play baseball. Wonder if she's any good?_

A batter slammed a fast ground ball between second and third bases. Junba ran over, snaring it in her glove, and then she threw it to second base to tag out a runner. The girl at second base then tossed to first base to tag out the batter for a double play. "She's good!" Benten declared with a whistle.

That ended the inning. Junba's squad went to the dugout to wait for their turn at bat. The class representative was too caught up in the game to notice her mother standing nearby. Benten, however, had come to notice Fujinami Dansei working on the grounds some distance from the backstop. The hunter walked over to her. "Hey! Aren't you Dansei?" Benten hailed. "Ryuunosuke's daughter?"

Dansei looked up. "That's right."

"Why aren't you in gym class?"

"Well," Dansei breathed out as she put her hand shovel down. "Thanks to that stupid granddad of mine, I got signed up for BOYS' physical education instead of girls'."

Benten instantly moaned as she remembered her own encounters with the patriarch of the Fujinami family. "Is that senile old goat still around? Didn't Ryuunosuke ever beat him?"

"Not without lack of trying."

"I hear you're good friends with Aiotoga."

Dansei nodded. "Ever since kindergarten."

Benten smirked. "Not surprised. Did your mom ever tell you about the time I was attracted to her because I thought she was a guy?"

"According to Mom, you weren't the only one," the younger woman noted with a grin. "It must've happened a dozen times . . . until she finally married my dad. Sure glad I haven't had any problems like that. And I hope that the gods will strike me dead before I do . . . "

Almost in answer, something DID strike her . . . in the face: A baseball hit by Junba. Dansei fell like a marionette with her strings cut. Over at the diamond, Junba was quick to see what she had done.

"Ooops!"

* * *

Benten fireman-carried the unconscious Dansei to the nurse's station. Inside, Shinobu was busy examining a skinny, sickly-looking boy with a medical tricorder. As the hunter stepped inside, she watched as the nurse finished her scans -- and then she clobbered the student with a large mallet! "There's nothing wrong with you, Byooki-kun!" she barked. "Get out of here!" 

"I'm sure I've got the Egyptian Flu!" he whined . . .

He found himself tossed through the doorway, his body barely missing Benten! "Nobody's had that in fifty years!" Shinobu screamed at him. "Quit reading those old medical journals in the library!"

"A-are you always like that with your patients?" Benten stammered as she gazed on the nurse.

"That was Byooki Itsumo," Shinobu reported, she rolling her eyes. "Week after week, he's in here saying he's got some disease that -- more often than not -- is impossible for him to catch. So, what's up?"

Benten gently slid the still-dazed Dansei onto a nearby bed. "It's not me who's in need," she announced. "It's Dansei here. She got hit in the face with a baseball."

Shinobu looked at the welt the baseball left on Dansei's left cheek. It had already started to turn into a bruise. "Dansei forgot to duck?" she asked as she scanned the injured area with her tricorder. "She's lucky. It's only a bruise. It could've broken her cheekbone. Was she playing baseball?"

"Nope. She was talking to me when it happened. It was an accident."

Shinobu slipped a bandage onto Dansei's cheek. "This bandage will help protect it. What are you doing here, Benten?"

"Oh, I was just visiting Aiotoga."

With a moan, Dansei's eyes fluttered open. "Where'm I . . .?"

"You're in the nurse's station, Dansei-kun," Shinobu reported. "Benten brought you here after you got hit in the face by a baseball."

The tomboy then jolted as an arc of discomfort surged through her face. "Ouch!" she groaned as she moved to tenderly feel her cheek. "This calls for some C. C. Lemon."

"Oi!" Benten chimed; she had seen that commercial, too.

"You'll be fine," Shinobu assured her current patient. "Next time, learn to duck."

Nodding in understanding, Dansei then staggered out of the nurse's station. Shinobu sighed as she walked over to sit down at her desk. "What a morning!" she declared. "I'm glad it's lunchtime." She then looked at her guest. "Hey, Benten. Wanna go out together for lunch?"

"Sure," the Fukunokami replied, nodding. "As long at it's dutch."

* * *

Minutes later, Benten and Shinobu walked into Big Belly Burgers, the latest American fast food restaurant chain to come to the Land of the Rising Sun. Like any other fast food place, it was a tacky-looking restaurant staffed with teens and young adults. Most of the patrons were salarymen or high school students. After getting their orders, they went over to a booth to enjoy their lunches. "So, how are things?" Shinobu then asked before she took a bite of her burger. 

"Fine, I guess," Benten replied. "I didn't know Junba was such a gifted athlete."

"She gets it from you and Nassur-kun, I guess." A reminiscent look then crossed the nurse/princess' face. "Five years ago in the summer, she worked as a batboy at Tokyo Dome for both the Giants' and the Fighters' home games. They invited her back the next year. All the players gave her a few pointers."

"No kidding. I didn't know that."

"She even gave flowers to players who hit homeruns one year . . . before she got too old for the job."

"There's a lot I've missed of Aiotoga's life," Benten sadly noted. "I feel as if I abandoned her."

Shinobu reached over to give her friend's hand a squeeze. "Unfortunately, events got out of hand."

"I wish I could change history . . . " Benten then snarled. "So that I could raise Aiotoga myself."

"You can't, Benten. You have to make do with what happened." An eyebrow then arched. "Why are you so upset? Junba's accepted you. Work with her and you won't have any problems."

"I'm trying to," the Fukunokami then admitted. "Seventeen years is a long time to breech." With that, she moved to finish lunch, and then she stood to clean up and depart. "Thanks for having lunch with me. I'm gonna look at some air bikes. See you."

"Go ahead."

Shinobu remained in her seat, her eyes following the Fukunokami as she left. _All of this is bothering Benten_, the nurse/princess mused as she turned back to her meal. _We've got to find a way to help her cope with this before it gets ugly._

* * *

After school, Junba visited the Fujinamis to check up on Dansei. Entering the cafeteria -- the Fujinami family's apartment was located in a pair of converted store rooms beside the kitchen -- the class representative was quick to see that Dansei was busy helping with the clean up with a bandage fixed on her cheek. Her grandfather Fujimi was busy counting up the money made during the day while Ryuunosuke and Nagisa were busy closing the kitchen. "Another successful day ends!" the elderly teashop proprietor cheerily announced as he closed up the moneybox and moved to secure it in the safe. He was quick to spot who had just come in. "Hello, Junba-san!" 

Dansei looked up on hearing her grandfather's words. On seeing Junba, she then gave her best friend a wave. "Hey, Aiotoga! What're you doing here?!"

"Hi, Dansei-chan," Junba said, an apologetic look crossing her face. "I'm sorry for hitting you with that ball. I thought I had that hit under control."

Dansei's eyes rolled. "Willya knock it of, Junba?!" she snapped. "You've apologized at least _twenty_ times for that! It was an accident, for Buddha's sake!"

Ryuunosuke stared at them. "If it's anyone's fault, it's yours, Dansei. Why didn't you duck out of the way like you normally do?"

An embarrassed look crossed the younger tomboy's face. "Well, I was distracted by Junba's mom."

Suddenly, a huge tsunami appeared behind them. "Oh, the shame of it!" Fujimi sobbed as his "son," "grandson" and his "grandson's" friend ducked. "My grandson has an Oedipus complex!"

"That's not true, Oyaji!" Dansei snapped. "You're twisting it all around!"

"How can **she** have an Oedipus complex . . .?" Ryuunosuke growled. "When she's a girl?!"

Fujimi's tsunami ran into Ryuunosuke's breakwater and was destroyed. "Old fool," Ryuunosuke said as she returned to normal.

Fujimi then appeared behind both Junba and Dansei and shoved them together so they're face-to-face. "Why can't you be happy with girls like Junba here, Dansei?" he then yelled as he did this. "Maybe her real mom will allow you two to get married like you should. You've been friends since childhood."

He then grabbed a microphone and a stylized painting of a sun setting behind Fuji-san appeared behind him. The sound of trumpets and celebration was heard in the background. "Oh," Fujimi yelled into the microphone, "They've been together for so long and yet they won't think of getting married! How shy can you get?!"

Dansei and Junba both got angry and punched him through the roof. "I'm a girl!" Junba yelled as she threw her punch.

"And so am I!" added Dansei as she threw her punch.

Fujimi blasted through the roof like a rocket to crash into the ground a mile away like an air-to-surface missile hitting its' target. "That old fool!" Dansei said with a sigh. "I'd do anything to be rid of him permanently!"

"I agree," Junba said. "He's been trying to get us to marry since we were old enough. At least, my father and both my mothers have seen through his delusion!"

"If only I had beaten him before Dansei was born," Ryuunosuke lamented.

* * *

Meanwhile, Benten was checking out an air bike dealership somewhere in Tomobiki. The dealer had several brands and styles of air bikes from various planets around the Galaxy, not to mention examples from a few Earth-based producers. Benten looked impressed by how many of them are around. _Some of these air bikes look real neat_, she thought to herself. _There's even some from Earth as well._

A young Japanese salesman in a business suit walked up to Benten and asked, "May I help you, miss?"

"Do you have any Fukunokami models?"

"There's some over there," the salesman said as he pointed to across the showroom.

Benten rushed towards them and sat on the first one she liked. "This one is nice." She then looked at the sticker price and nearly had a heart attack because it was nearly 500,000,000 yen. "F-five hundred million yen?" she stammered as her mind automatically did the conversion between the local currency and uniCredits. "What happened to prices in seventeen years?"

Reluctantly, she got off the air bike and continued to look around. She soon noticed an air bike that looked similar to the one she owned before she disappeared with her husband. "Oh, I love this one," Benten said as she sat on it happily, and then she looked for the price sticker. Not finding one, she gazed at the salesman. "Hey! How much is this one?"

The salesman walked up to her. "I'm sorry," he said with a frown. "It's not for sale."

Benten's face dropped. "It's not?"

"It's a display piece," the salesman explained, "The company that built it no longer makes this model. The last one was made sixteen years ago."

Benten looked disappointed as she dismounted and walked out of the dealership with a look of gloom on her face. "Funny! Seventeen years ago, that model was the state of the art," she mumbled to herself. "Now it's a piece of history. I feel old."

Benten walked down the street and heard what sounded like rap music coming from nearby. "What's that noise?" Benten said while trying to find the source. "It sounds like the mating call of flatulent starwhales."

She noticed the music was coming from a building with the name called _The Lying Bastard_. "A dance hall?" Benten asks herself as she made her way towards it.

Benten was stopped at the door by a huge sumo wrestler-sized bouncer with his hair in a ponytail. "Hold it, chickie," the bouncer said. "It's a four hundred yen cover ta get in."

"Four hundred yen," Benten said to the bouncer with surprise. "Just to hear that noise?"

"'Ey," the bouncer shrugged. "A hundred people an hour can't be wrong."

Benten looked in the door and noticed the dance hall packed with mostly Japanese young people dancing, drinking, and socializing to the flashing lights and ear-shattering music played by a disc jockey. Benten also saw a bar. "Four hundred yen, eh?" she said as she passed the money to the bouncer. "I need a drink! Noise or no noise."

The bouncer took the money and let Benten inside the dance hall. "Geez," the bouncer muttered as she entered. "Wot drugs is she on ta not like rap music?"

* * *

An hour later, at the Miyake house, Nassur, Shinobu, and Junba were sitting down to supper. Noted by her absence was Benten. "Mom's late again tonight!" Junba noted as she ate some food. 

"She said she was going shopping for air bikes," Shinobu said while eating.

"How many air bike sellers are there in this city?" asked Nassur.

* * *

At the Lying Bastard, Benten was downing drink after drink and her face was flushed with intoxication. She shoved an empty glass to the master and looked at him drunkenly. "Shay, Master," she slurred. "Hit me ag'n. I gotta lotta pain ta ferget!" 

The master refilled Benten's glass and handed it to her. "This is the last one, chickie," he warned as he handed the drink to her. "After this we're cutting you off."

"Gimme it!" Benten grabbed the drink rudely out of the master's hand.

As Benten began to drink her drink, someone slapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Benten," a female voice yelled.

The sudden jarring caused Benten to spill her drink on herself. Naturally, she wasn't very happy about that. She turned angrily behind her to confront whomever it was that slapped her on the back. "Why you . . .?!" Benten snarled as she turned around ready to fight.

She was surprised to see a black-haired Fukunokami girl dressed in a Fukunokami battle bikini that looked similar to Benten's, save that it had gold chains, denoting she was of a different clan. The girl looked like an older version of Benten except she kept her hair in two side ponytails instead of in a bun like Benten did. "Who're ya?" Benten said with a note of surprise.

The girl sat beside Benten and smiled. "It's me, Hyooga Kakitori. It's been a while since we saw each other. I was still a kid when you and Nassur disappeared."

"Hyooga . . . Kakitori?" Benten mumbled to herself as she tried to remember where she heard the name. "Oh, I rememmer! Hyooga Ebisu's kid! So, ya grew up too."

"Well, seventeen years is a long time. I couldn't stay a child forever."

Benten put her arm around Kakitori. "So, how's ol' Ebisu annieway?" she drawled. "He still girl chasin'?"

Kakitori looked sad. "Ebisu died ten years ago in battle."

Benten felt terrible. "S-sorry, Kakitori," she stammered in remorse. "I didn't know. Livin' inna freezer for years means not being tol' 'bout these things."

Kakitori smiled a little. "That's okay. I've gotten over my dad's death a long time ago."

Benten removed her arm from around Kakitori. "So whattaya doin' on Earth? No kid of Ebisu's goes nowhere wit'out a reason."

"Oh, I'm just hitting the clubs around here while I'm visiting Moroboshi Amora," Kakitori said. "I'm just seeing what the guys are like on Earth."

"Ya know Amora?"

"Yeah, we're in the Intergalactic Boy Chaser's Club together. I'm the member for Fukunokami and Amora's the member for Elle."

"I didn't think they were still 'round. How come Amora's not the member for Earth?"

"She's of dual heritage. We had a member for Earth already when she joined, so she became the member for Elle."

The Intergalactic Boy Chaser's Club was a group of girls who were dedicated to finding lovers -- or at least attempting to find lovers. Limited to one member per world and they could only be members until the age of thirty (or their physical equivalent for long-lived races) or until they get married, whichever comes first. The I.B.C.C. was old, nearly two hundred years old to be exact, predating the Galactic Federation by nearly sixty years. To be a member, a girl must love boys and be willing to be temporarily sterilized as long as they were members. Kakitori was one of the current leaders in active service after joining the group in her teens after her predecessor married.

"Who's runnin' them now?" Benten asked.

"Senba is," Kakitori answered. "And I'm soon in line to replace her should she ever get married."

Benten laughed. "There's no doubt that yer Ebisu's kid. Always chasin' the opposite sex like there's no tamorra."

"It's a living," Kakitori stated with a giggle.

The master walked up to them both and leaned over to Benten. "Yo! Your sister gonna order anything?"

"No thanks," Kakitori said to the master. "I'm driving . . . but we're not sisters."

The bartender looked surprised by Kakitori's pointing out she's not related to Benten at all -- even though they did look like enough to be sisters. "Sorry," the master said. "You both look like you could be sisters."

Benten offered her glass drunkenly to the master. "Hit me ag'n!"

The master looked at the drunken flush on Benten's face. "You had enough, chickie."

Benten looked upset. "Who sayz?" she yelled as she tried to grab the master by the shirt.

"I do!" the master said tauntingly to her.

"Why you . . .!" Benten yelled as she tried to jump over the bar to get at the master.

Luckily, Kakitori grabbed her and began to drag her out of the dance hall before any further incident could occur. "Excuse us. I'll settle the bill then I'll take her home."

* * *

Minutes later, after the bill had been paid and Benten removed without any harm to anyone else or themselves, Kakitori took Benten to a parking lot nearby. "Whaddaya doin'? I coulda taken him!" 

"Do you want to go to jail if you try to?" Kakitori calmly asked.

"Well . . .!" Benten then paused as she tried to get a hold of herself. "Point taken. I've been inna 'nuff cages in my life."

"Come on, I'll take you home," Kakitori said as she escorted her to a nearby air bike. "You're in no condition to walk."

Benten looked impressed by the air bike. "Now, that's an air bike!"

Kakitori took the driver's seat while Benten struggled to get on the passenger's seat. "So where are you staying?" Kakitori asked Benten as she started up the motor of her air bike.

"At Miyake Shinobu's place on Kyoojin-doori, just right behind where Moroboshi Ataru and Lum live," Benten said drunkenly. "I'll wanna be rida that child stealer."

"Right . . . " Kakitori said as she sighed. _I hope that woman she's staying with isn't thin-skinned if she hears that._

The air bike lifted off. When it was high enough, it flew away. Nearby, Megane Aisuru watched them go. A wind blew by him. "I sense something ominous is going to happen soon to them," the monk declared as he went into a praying position. "I pray it won't be serious."

* * *

Minutes later, Kakitori's air bike landed at the front door of the Miyake family house. "This must be the place," Kakitori quipped as she read the sign on the door, which said **MIYAKE: Shinobu, Junba**. 

Benten tried to get off the air bike, but more or less fell off of it. Kakitori noticed and tried to help her up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Benten said as she staggered drunkenly to her feet.

"Do you need help to the door?"

"I need ta know which door it is," Benten replied after looking at them and seeing several double-images of the door in her drunken mind.

"There's only one door," Kakitori said as she helped Benten to it.

"There is?" Benten remarked. "There's not fifteen of them each wit' a pink elephant as a doorman?"

By time the two young women got to the door, it swung open and Nassur stood there. He immediately noticed Benten's drunkenness. "It's about time you got back!" he quipped. "I see you must've really enjoyed air bike shopping."

"Hello, Nassur-san," Kakitori said. "Remember me?"

He glanced at her, his eyes brightening. "Oh, hi, Kakitori! Long time, no see."

"I found Benten drunk at a dance hall so I brought her home," Kakitori explained as she helped Benten to the door.

"I see," Nassur said then he turned towards inside the house. "Shinobu, you want to get some coffee ready? Benten's drunk!"

"Okay!" Shinobu yelled from inside the house.

Benten looked upset when she heard Shinobu's voice. Nassur helped Kakitori bring Benten into the house. "Let me help you with my wife."

Minutes later, Benten was sat down on the couch and waited for Shinobu came with coffee. "Just sit here for now, Benten," Nassur ordered.

Shinobu walked in with tray that has a pot of coffee and a cup on it. "Coffee's ready," Shinobu said cheerfully.

Shinobu walked up to the table and was just beginning to put the tray on the table, when Benten gave her an angry, cold glance. "There's the bitch who stol' m'kid away!" Benten announced . . . loudly.

The effect of such an announcement was immediate. Shinobu dropped the tray on the table nearly spilling everything on it over the floor. A hurt look crossed the nurse/princess' face. Nassur and Kakitori looked shocked. "B-Benten . . .!" the Vosian stammered as he moved to break the tension.

"Do you MIND repeating that again, Benten?" Shinobu said, a battle aura appearing around her.

Benten did not look impressed by the growing anger Shinobu was developing. "Ya know what I said," Benten said cruelly. "BABY-STEALER!"

Nassur tried to calm Benten down. "Benten, you're drunk . . . "

Benten only turned to Nassur coldly and said, "I'm sober 'nuff ta speak m'own mind, ya know!"

Suddenly, a volcano formed on top of Shinobu's head and it erupted violently. Nassur and Kakitori looked nervous. Shinobu stared angrily into the eyes of Benten. "What do you mean that I'M a baby-stealer?!" she growled. "I wasn't the one who put Junba in an escape pod and ejected her seventeen years ago!"

Benten did not look impressed by Shinobu's rage against her. "I hadda reason ta, bitch!" she slurred. "What's yer reason?"

The aura around Shinobu darkened considerably. Quick to see this, Nassur moved to calm her down. "Now, Shinobu . . . "

"So!" Shinobu snapped. "The truth is finally told! Benten, it's time we fought this out once and for all!"

Benten stood up and got herself ready to fight. "Whaddaya gonna try ta do, bitch? I betcha planned this wit' Elle just so ya could have a kid 'cause nobody wants a bitch like ya!"

Benten stuck her tongue out at the Shinobu. The latter winced, her eyes glistening with tears, and then her jaw tightened. "Why, you . . .!"

Before she could attack, a voice then barked out, "Benten!"

Everyone turned and saw Junba at the doorway leading from the living room to the hallway dressed in her pyjamas. She stood there with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face. "A-Aiotoga?" Benten said all of a sudden feeling embarrassed by her behaviour.

"What's the meaning of this?" Junba icily asked.

Benten walked up drunkenly to Junba. "Don't yell at your mother . . .!"

_SLAP!_

Benten blinked as her hand reached up to touch her now-reddened cheek and looked shocked at the fact her own daughter, the child she gave birth to and ejected in an escape pod to keep safe from enemies, had just slapped in the face as if she was a total stranger. "Y-ya hit me? Yer own momma . . .?"

"I was _once_ happy that my real parents came back," Junba said as she fought back her own tears. "Now, I wished you _stayed_ away!"

With a sob, she ran off to her bedroom. "Junba," Benten stammered as she dropped to her knees. "A-Aiotoga . . . I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean to . . . "

Staggering to her feet, she moved to follow. Nassur's hand stayed her in place. "Let her alone, Benten," Nassur said as he put his arms around his wife. "I'm afraid you've done too much already."

She turned around to weep into his chest. "I've alienated my own daughter!"

Nassur turned to Kakitori, quickly noting the nervous look on her face. "I'm sorry you had to see this, Kakitori."

"That's all right," Kakitori said as she turned to leave. "I've seen this many times. I'll go back to my hotel, if you don't mind."

Kakitori rushed out of the house without trying to be so obvious about it. Shinobu walked up to Nassur. Nassur could still see the anger in their host's eyes. "What's worse is Benten deserved that," she noted before she turned around to clean up the mess.

"I agree," Nassur said, nodding. "I'll put her to bed and make her apologize to everyone in the morning."

* * *

Later, everyone in the Miyake home had retired for the evening. Nassur and Benten slept together nude in a futon laid out in the guest bedroom. Although they were in the same bed together, they laid as far apart from each other as they can get, their backs turned to each other. Unfortunately, sleep could not be had this night for the pair of hunters. Nassur finally turned his head to speak to Benten. 

"Benten . . .?"

"Forget it!" she moaned, her pillow wet with tears. "I'm not in the mood!"

He turned towards her. "I'm your husband. Talk to me!"

"What can I say?" she wondered. "My kid hates my guts and I can't say that I blame her. I've treated her and Shinobu like shit! But . . . no one seems to take in account how **I** feel!"

"I do," he affirmed, sitting up. "You're my wife and Junba's my daughter as well. She's the only child I've got that's lived to see adulthood. I feel the same loss you do in not helping to shape her life."

Fresh tears streamed down her face. "It's not fair! I spent four months of hell on Earth carrying her in my body when I found out I was pregnant! You were gone to fight the Mikado with Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, Mendou, and Megane! I didn't know if you were coming back or not! Then you did come back just before she was born. I thought I'd be happy forever . . . but Elle captured us and kept us like pets. It's not fair!"

A hand touched her shoulder. "There's nothing we can do now," he quietly stated as she tried to wipe her face. "We have to live with this. I've accepted it! Can you?"

"I-I'll try . . . but it won't be easy."

"Good." He leaned down to kiss the back of her neck. "Until then, talk to Lum."

That made her turn around to gaze at him. "Lum? Why her?"

"Because I think Lum has more in common with what we're going through than anyone else," he answered as he moved to embrace her. "But before that, apologize to Shinobu. Even if you can't remember what you said when you were drunk."

"Okay." She returned his embrace. "I'll do it."

"They let's go to sleep."

Soon, they drifted off, still in each other's arms.

* * *

Next morning, after recovering from her hangover and apologizing to Shinobu for what she had said the previous night, Benten headed to the Moroboshi home. Stepping inside, she was quick to see that the only one in residence was Lum. "Oh, Benten!" the Oni called out. "What a surprise! Come in!" 

"Thanks," Benten called out as she slipped off her shoes in the genkan, and then she stepped into the living room. "I wanted to talk to you this morning. Hope you don't have to go to work."

"I'm on my day off," Lum confirmed as she followed the Fukunokami into the living room, her hand falling over her stomach. "It'll give me some time for me and the baby to relax."

They sat down. "You're really starting to show," Benten remarked on seeing Lum's abdomen.

"Tcha!" Lum said. "It's funny how the baby missed being diagnosed for so long. He seems to be growing fast. I already can't see my toes, let alone touch them." She then gazed on her guest. "But you're not here to talk about me being pregnant," she added. "What's up?"

"Well . . . as you know, I've not been the best of friends with my friends lately."

"Tcha! Ran told me about what you said to her." Lum then shrugged. "I know I'm probably the last person to talk to you about this but . . . you must accept what's happened to you or you'll go nuts."

"I know. It's not easy. I still think of Aiotoga as that baby I ejected seventeen years ago."

"Unfortunately, she's all grown up and ready to have her own family."

A wince. "Don't remind me! I'm definitely NOT ready to be a grandma when I haven't even gone through a maturity ritual yet!"

A giggle. "Hopefully, that won't happen. How about some tea?"

"Sure. Can I use your bathroom?"

"Go ahead," Lum said as she rose to head into the kitchen. "It's upstairs."

Benten stepped upstairs, she recalling what Nassur had said to her that morning: "Don't you find it's a _little_ strange that nobody mentions whatever's happened to Lum and Ataru's child?" his voice echoed in her mind. "Lum was pregnant with Koishii-chan when we disappeared, but the only children they talk about are Reiko, her twin sister Kaneko and Amora. See if you can find out why."

_Why don't they mention their fourth child?_ she mused to herself as she neared the bathroom. As she went there, her eyes glanced into the total disaster that Amora called her room. "Shit!" she gasped. "Amora lives in _this_ junkyard?! How can she sleep here?!"

Another bedroom, it sitting across from Amora's, was empty. "Nothing here. Must've been Reiko's room."

She arrived at Ataru and Lum's room. The door was closed. Benten quietly opened it to walk in. The bedroom was no different than any bedroom accommodating a married couple. A queen-sized bed and a pair of dressers were the primary pieces of furniture, along with a vanity and a nightstand. On the vanity, several pictures sat. Benten gazed on them. One was of Lum and Ataru with Reiko, Kaneko -- Benten knew now that Reiko's twin sister normally wore her hair loose inside of the side pigtails Reiko herself had started to sport during high school -- and Amora, it looking like it had been taken a couple of years ago. Beside that were couple portraits of Reiko and Kaneko with their life-mates, Fujisawa Mina and Miyake Annabelle. There was one of Jariten in his military uniform, taken after his graduation from the Urusian Defence Force Academy. Finally, sitting on the nightstand by the bed, there was a picture of a newborn Oni baby with dark brownish hair and brown eyes. Blinking, Benten reached over to pick it up.

"Who's this?" she asked before her eyes fell on the kanji written there. "'Koishii?'"

She then read what else was written on that photo.

* * *

A minute or so later, Lum called upstairs, "Tea's ready, Benten!" 

Benten jogged downstairs, a forced smile on her face. "Coming!"

As tea was served, Benten gazed on Lum. _I've been a fool, Lum. At least my child's alive._

* * *

School came to a close, the staff and students beginning their personal treks home. Junba had an apprehensive look on her face as she approached the front gate. "Guess it's back to the war zone," she quietly mused to herself, and then she sighed just as her eyes changed colour. 

"Going somewhere?"

Junba turned towards one of the trees. "Oh. It's only you, Mom!" she said as Benten jumped down from a branch to land perfectly before her. "What do you want?"

Shame crossed the older woman's face. "I came to apologize for my behaviour last night," Benten announced. "I should've known better. It won't happen again. I guess I've been the Mother from Hell lately; I deserved that slap in the face you gave me."

"So to speak. Have you apologized to my mom yet?"

"Yeah."

"Fine."

And with that, she turned to walk away. Benten dodged in front of her. "Aiotoga, please!" she pleaded. "Please, don't hate me! I just found about someone who's in worse shape than I am." A pause. "You may have grown up . . . but at least you're _alive!_ Please, Junba! I'm . . . I'm sorry."

Tears glistened in Junba's eyes as the strength of her mother's plea lanced through her heart. Benten bowed her head, and then she looked up to gaze hopefully into her daughter's eyes. "I need my daughter."

"Oh, Mom . . . "

* * *

Unseen by either of them as they fell into an embrace, Lum was gazing on Benten and Junba from her place close to the school's front gate. _You spoke of loss, Benten_, the Oni mused to herself. _You don't know the meaning of the word. Hopefully, you never will before you're old and grey._

With that, she turned and flew off to her home. A trail of tears flowed from her eyes like two rivers, they glistening in the afternoon sun. They then descended upon some fallen leaves on the ground.

_**The End . . . For Now **_

* * *

**WRITERS NOTES**:

1) C.C. Lemon does exist in Japan and Korea; it's a type of lemon drink similar to the lemon version of Crush sold in North America.

2) Fans of _Superman_ should recognise the restaurant chain Shinobu and Benten visited for lunch.


End file.
